DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service family accommodation properties in England and Wales were identified as awaiting disposal or demolition in each year since 2004; and how much rent was paid to Annington Homes for those properties in each of those years.

Kevan Jones: It will take more time to collate and verify the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many thefts from unoccupied houses owned by his Department have been reported in each of the last 12 months.

Kevan Jones: A complete record of thefts from unoccupied houses, is not available because these are held by a number of Home Office police forces.

Electronic Warfare

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research his Department has conducted on the likely magnitude of an electromagnetic pulse weapon attack upon the UK and the consequences of such an attack.

Bill Rammell: The Ministry of Defence has undertaken electromagnetic pulse research in a number of areas. This information is being withheld for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Home Department (Mr. Hanson) on 3 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1282W.

Future Surface Combatant

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many variants of the Future Surface Combatant will be designed; and how many ships in each such variant he expects to be constructed.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 11 March 2010
	The Future Surface Combatant programme is expected to consist of two variants. The C1, an Anti Submarine Warfare task group enabled platform and the C2 variant, a more general purpose platform. There is a separate Mine Countermeasures, Hydrographic and Patrol Capability programme, which was previously referred to as C3.
	No decisions have yet been made on the number of ships to be constructed; this will be decided at the main investment decision point for each variant.

Land Mines: Detectors

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of his Department's hand-held mine detectors were  (a) in service and  (b) fit for purpose in each of the last nine years;
	(2)  how many  (a) Vallon VMH3CS and  (b) Ebinger EBEX-420PB mine detectors are (i) in service and (ii) fit for purpose.

Quentin Davies: The metal detectors currently in service are Vallon, Hoodlum and Horn. There are sufficient metal detectors to meet our current operational requirements. As at 5 March 2010, there were 3,071 Vallon hand-held metal detectors in service. The number of equipments available for use will vary daily and will depend principally on how many are in the repair loop at the time. As at 5 March 2010, an estimated 2,440 Vallon were available for use. The EBEX-420PB metal detector has been withdrawn from service.
	The number of hand-held metal detectors in service and available for use in previous years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when  (a) he expects the last of the nine MRA4 aircraft on order to be delivered and  (b) where these helicopters will be based.

Quentin Davies: Delivery of the nine Nimrod MRA4 aircraft is expected to be complete by the end of 2012. I assume that the second part of your question relates to the MRA4 and that "helicopters" is a misprint. On current planning RAF Kinloss will be the main operating base for the MRA4 aircraft.

Warships: Decommissioning

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which  (a) Royal Navy and  (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been sold to other countries since 1997; and what revenue accrued to his Department from each such sale.

Quentin Davies: holding answer 12 March 2010
	Since 1997, 29 ex-Royal Navy and ex-Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have been sold to other countries. In detail these vessels are:
	
		
			  Ship  Date  Country  Gross revenue (£) 
			 HMS Plover January 1997 Philippines 7,500,000 
			 HMS Peacock
			 HMS Starling
			 Total financial year 1997-98   7,500,000 
			 
			 HMS Unseen January 1998 Canada 227,400,000 
			 HMS Unicorn
			 HMS Ursula
			 HMS Upholder
			 Total financial year 1998-99   227,400,000 
			 
			 HMS Bicester July 2000 Greece 10,000,000 
			 HMS Berkeley February 2001   
			 
			 HMS Orkney December 2000 Trinidad and Tobago 1,500,000 
			 Total financial year 2000-01   11,500,000 
			 
			 HMS Orwell June 2001 Guyana 1,500,000 
			 Total financial year 2001-02   1,500,000 
			 
			 HMS Shetland August 2002 Bangladesh 8,000,000 
			 HMS Alderney
			 HMS Anglesey
			 HMS Lindisfarne
			 HMS Guernsey
			 
			 HMS London  Romania 116,000,000 
			 HMS Coventry
			 Total financial year 2002-03   124,000,000 
			 
			 HMS Sheffield April 2003 Chile 27,000,000 
			 Total financial year 2003-04   27,000,000 
			 
			 HMS Norfolk October 2005 Chile 134,000,000 
			 HMS Grafton
			 HMS Marlborough
			 Total financial year 2005-06   134,000,000 
			 
			 HMS Sandown September 2006 Estonia 32,000,000 
			 HMS Inverness
			 HMS Bridport
			 Total financial year 2006-07   32,000,000 
			 
			 RFA Sir Galahad July 2007 Brazil 5,235,000 
			 Total financial year 2007-08   5,235,000 
			 
			 RFA Sir Bedivere October 2009 Brazil 10,000,000 
			 
			 HMS Cottesmore November 2009 Lithuania  
			 HMS Dulverton
			 Total financial year 2008-09   10,000,000 
			 
			 Total gross revenue (1997 to 2009)   580,135,000 
			  Note: Revenue is shown as gross. Prior to 2001 no information is available regarding net revenue. Since 2001 total net revenue from sales was £62,645,000.

Warships: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the first ships to be procured under the Future Surface Combatant programme to enter service.

Quentin Davies: It is departmental policy to release in-service dates only for those ships for which the main investment decision has been taken. The Future Surface Combatant programme has not yet reached this stage. However, our current planning assumption is that the first vessels will enter service early in the next decade.

CABINET OFFICE

Census: Sikhs

Tony Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent consideration has been given to including a separate category for Sikhs in the ethnic categories to be included in the 2011 Census.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. A copy of their letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Young People

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office for how long on average claimants aged between 18 and 24 years resident in each local authority area in the South East were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in  (a) each of the last 12 months and  (b) each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated March 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for how long on average claimants aged between 18 and 24 years resident in each local authority area in the South East were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in (a) each of the last 12 months and (b) each of the last five years. (321449)
	The number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) is taken from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. The length of a claim has been defined as the time between the start of an individual's claim and the count date in each reference month. Table 1 shows the median length of live claims for persons aged 18 to 24 resident in each local authority in the South East during the last 12 months up to the latest available period in January 2010, and for January of each of the last 5 years. A copy of the table will be placed in the Library of the House.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Lord Ashcroft

Alun Michael: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether guidance was provided to members of the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee on the interpretation by that committee of the undertaking given by Lord Ashcroft in 2000.

Tom Levitt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum referred to in the statement by Lord Ashcroft of 1 March 2010 on official confirmation from the Government on the interpretation of the first undertaking he made to the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee.

Michael Meacher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether ministerial approval was given for the definition of long-term resident to be used by the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee for the purposes of its consideration of Lord Ashcroft's nomination for a peerage;
	(2)  whether guidance was sought from HM Revenue and Customs on the interpretation of the undertaking given by Lord Ashcroft to the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee in respect of the definition of his status as a long-term resident of the UK.

Tessa Jowell: The Cabinet Office will be responding to a request by the Public Administration Select Committee that it should supply a brief written statement describing the nature of the dialogue referred to by Lord Ashcroft in his statement of 1 March 2010. The date of that hearing is to be confirmed. The matters raised by the hon. Members will be dealt with in that response.

Political Honours Scrutiny Committee

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 7 December 2009,  Official Report, column 3W, on the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee, when the criteria will be determined for  (a) the destruction and  (b) the preservation of records of the Committee.

Angela Smith: Papers relating to the Political Honours Scrutiny Committee will be handled in accordance with the requirements of the Public Records Acts.

Unemployment

Theresa May: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she made of the number and proportion of people of working age who were classified as underemployed in  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales,  (c) England and  (d) Northern Ireland in each year since 1980.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. A copy of their letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence his Department has on the proportion of antisocial behaviour that is alcohol-related.

Alan Campbell: According to the 2008-09 British Crime Survey in 47 per cent. of violent incidents the victims believed the offender was under the influence of alcohol.
	The data can be found at the following weblink:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109vol1.pdf

Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the review process for the EU Animal Experimentation Directive; what assessment he has made of the implications of that review for the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: In November 2008 the European Commission published its proposal for a new directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes to replace EU Directive 86/609/EEC. The European Parliament adopted its first reading report on the Commission's proposal in May 2009. The Council of Ministers has not yet adopted an agreed position. However, discussions between the Swedish presidency, the Commission and the European Parliament completed in December 2009 made significant progress towards agreement of a common compromise text.
	The only provisions remaining to be agreed relate to the arrangements for delegated and implementing acts introduced by articles 290 and 291 of the Lisbon Treaty, the operational details of which are still being negotiated.
	Once these provisions are agreed, the way should then be clear for the new Directive to be adopted. Our current expectation is that this will be in the first half of 2010 and that the final implementation date for the measures set out in the new directive, after transposition into UK law, will be 1 January 2013.
	We believe the compromise text provides a sound basis for the future regulation of animal research in Europe. The text is more flexible and less prescriptive than the Commission's initial proposal and, overall, provides a regulatory framework which, we believe is balanced and will allow the United Kingdom to maintain high standards of welfare and animal protection after transposition and implementation without the imposition of unnecessary bureaucracy.

Pathways to Work: Greater Manchester

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in  (a) the City of Manchester and  (b) Manchester Central constituency have (i) started Pathways to Work and (ii) made recorded job starts under Pathways to Work in each year since the inception of the programme.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 8 March 2010
	I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not published and could be made available only at disproportionate cost.

Shops: Crimes of Violence

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent attacks against shopkeepers were reported in  (a) the UK,  (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (c) West Yorkshire in the last 10 years.

Alan Campbell: Information on the profession of victims of violent offences is not collected centrally.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Audit Commission: Manpower

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many employees the Audit Commission had in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member direct.
	 Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 12 March 2010:
	Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
	The Audit Commission's full time equivalent (FTE) staffing levels at each year end since 1997 were:
	
		
			   FTE 
			 1996-97 1,280 
			 7 months to October 1997 1,295 
			 1997-98 1,403 
			 1998-99 1,600 
			 1999-2000 1,885 
			 2000-01 2,271 
			 2001-02 2,437 
			 17 months to March 2004 2,356 
			 2004-05 2,307 
			 2005-06 2,023 
			 2006-07 2,005 
			 2007-08 1,964 
			 2008-09 1,971 
			  Note: The Commission changed its financial year end in 1997 from March to October therefore there are two sets of accounts for that year. Our financial year end was changed again in 2004, so the period 2002-04 is for 17 months, from November 2002 to March 2004. 
		
	
	A copy of this letter will be placed in Hansard.

Council Housing: Finance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when he plans to publish the responses to the Reform of Council Housing Finance consultation;
	(2)  how many responses from  (a) local authorities and  (b) other bodies to the Reform of Council Housing Finance consultation were received by his Department;
	(3)  when he plans to announce his Department's proposals for replacement of the council housing finance system.

John Healey: I intend to make a further announcement and publish a summary of responses to the consultation shortly.

Fire Services: Manpower

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fire service personnel there were per 100,000 population in  (a) Chesterfield,  (b) Derbyshire and  (c) England in each year since 2006.

Shahid Malik: holding answer 11 March 2010
	 Numbers of fire and rescue service personnel are held centrally only by fire authority, thus the data in the table are for Derbyshire and England only.
	
		
			  Number of fire and rescue service personnel per 100,000 population 
			   Total fire and rescue service personnel  Fire and rescue service personnel per 100,000 population 
			  As at 31 March each year  Derbyshire  England  Derbyshire  England 
			 2006 983 54,297 99.3 107.0 
			 2007 984 55,036 98.8 107.7 
			 2008 1,021 55,537 101.9 108.0 
			 2009(1) 1,017 55,540 101.5 108.0 
			 (1) 2009 population estimates not yet available. Mid-year 2008 population used.  Sources: 1. Annual returns from Fire and Rescue Services to Communities and Local Government 2. Mid-year population estimates, Office for National Statistics

Housing Revenue Accounts

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether his further proposals on reform of the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system will include recommendations in respect of the  (a) revenue and  (b) capital elements;
	(2)  whether he expects his further proposals for reform of the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system to increase the total housing debt of local authorities;
	(3)  whether his further proposals on reform of the Housing Revenue Account subsidy system will enable local authorities to  (a) borrow against existing housing stock and  (b) develop a long-term sustainable business plan.

John Healey: I intend to make an announcement and publish a summary of responses to the consultation shortly.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Correspondence

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many  (a) emails her Office has responded to and  (b) telephone calls her Office has answered from members of the public since 2008.

Tessa Jowell: E-mails and telephone calls regarding the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are logged by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). 533 e-mails were responded to and 50 telephone calls were received in the period 1 January 2008 to 9 March 2010.
	Figures for my private office are not held.

Departmental Responsibilities

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her official engagements are in March 2010.

Tessa Jowell: I have many engagements in connection with my official duties.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many contracts the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment had with  (a) local authorities,  (b) Government departments and  (c) non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not held by my Department and relates to matters that are the responsibility of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE).
	Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of CABE to write direct to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding, other than in grant in aid, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment received from public bodies in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The amount of funding received by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment from public bodies apart from grant in aid in each of the last three financial years is set out in the table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Amount received from public bodies( 1)  (£) 
			 2006-07 7,740,548 
			 2007-08 8,744,777 
			 2008-09 9,478,904 
			 (1 )Excluding grant in aid.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) press and  (b) communications officers were employed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last three years; and how many were employed at the latest date for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) press and communications officers that were employed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last three years and at the current time are set out in the table:
	
		
			   Press officers( 1)  Communications officers( 1) 
			 2006-07 2 3.5 
			 2007-08 2 3.5 
			 2008-09 2 2.2 
			 Current 2 3.5 
			 (1 )FTE.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment  (a) has employed in each of the last three years and  (b) employed on the latest date for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) employed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in each of the last three financial years and at the current time is set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Staff employed by CABE (FTE) 
			 2006-07 102 
			 2007-08 120 
			 2008-09 124 
			 Current 120 
		
	
	Figures provided include all permanent, fixed term and temporary staff who are paid as employees through CABE's payroll.

Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department provided in grant in aid to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment in each of the last three years.

Ben Bradshaw: The grant in aid from this Department to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in the last three full financial years is in the table.
	
		
			   CABE  grant  in  aid  (£000) 
			 2006-07 3,690 
			 2007-08 4,690 
			 2008-09 (1)19,790 
			 (1) The increase reflects £15 million for Sea Change.  Source: DCMS Annual Reports and Accounts 2009

Cricket: Finance

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many first-class cricket ground redevelopment plans are dependent on funding from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Funding for first class cricket ground redevelopment plans is a matter for the England and Wales Cricket Board. Therefore, I suggest the hon. Member contacts them directly.

Digital Broadcasting: Radio

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in  (a) the UK and  (b) Scotland which have (i) one digital radio and (ii) two or more digital radios.

Ben Bradshaw: Research by Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) published in February 2010 indicates that 33.4 per cent. of adults in the UK own a DAB set at home. 10.5 million DAB sets had been sold by the end of 2009, and some of these are thought to be repeat purchases: research by Digital Radio UK suggests that 66 per cent. of DAB set owners possess more than one set. Separate figures for Scotland are not published.

Television

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in  (a) the UK and  (b) Scotland which have (i) one television set and (ii) two or more television sets; and what recent estimate he has made of the number of such households which have (A) one television set and (B) two or more television sets tuned to receive digital services.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not held centrally by the Department.
	Accordingly, I have asked Ofcom's chief executive to consider the question raised by the hon. Member for Gordon and to write to him direct.
	Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Winter Sports

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether UK Sport plans to undertaken a performance review of all winter sports following the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: UK Sport has advised that they conduct investment reviews with each sport after both winter and summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
	Through this process UK Sport can analyse Games results, apply its 'No compromise' Investment Principles and model, and issue planning figures to sports that fall within the scope for potential investment over the Sochi, Russia 2010-14 cycle.
	UK Sport Board has approved a refined set of Investment Principles which are positioned to embrace both summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic sports. This will ensure consistency of approach across all sports funded through the World Class Performance Programme.
	Following its winter sport reviews UK Sport anticipates being able to make 2010-14 funding decisions in summer 2010.

Winter Sports

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) Exchequer and  (b) Lottery funding has been allocated to winter sports by (i) UK Sport and (ii) Sport England in each year since the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The table, provided by UK Sport, outlines their Exchequer funding and Lottery funding for winter sports since the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. These funds are provided as part of UK Sport's World Class Performance Programme, and the awards were allocated for the four year Olympic cycle (reviewed after two years), rather than on a year by year basis.
	These figures are the allocated amounts for programme and Athlete Personal Awards (APA) as agreed at board level, and are published on the UK Sport website:
	http://www.uksport.gov.uk/
	
		
			  UK Sport 
			  (£) 
			   Programme-Exchequer  Programme-Lottery  APA-Lottery 
			  Sport (Olympic)
			 Bob Skeleton 124,000 1,595,000 391,000 
			 Bobsleigh 360,000  136,000 
			 Curling  720,000 416,000 
			 Figure Skating 180,000 180,000 136,000 
			 Short Track Speed Skating 500,000 260,000 204,000 
			 Skiing 270,000 - 102,000 
			 Snowboarding 180,000 - 68,000 
			 Totals 1,614,000 2,755,000 1,453,000 
			  Sport (Paralympic)
			 Disability Skiing 205,000 - - 
			 Wheelchair Curling 445,000 - - 
			 Totals 650,000 - - 
		
	
	In addition to the funding outlined in the table, as part of the contingency arrangements following Snowsport GB going into administration, UK Sport agreed to provide approximately £21,500 to the British Olympic Association. This funding was ring-fenced for the support of UK Sport's two currently funded elite athletes and their immediate technical and coaching teams to participate in the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
	Allied to UK Sport's funding for winter sports, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) has provided £4 million in the last four years, of which over £700,000 has been invested in promising skiers and snowboarders.
	The following table, provided by Sport England, outlines their Exchequer funding and Lottery funding for winter sports since the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, and is based on awards data held from 1 April 2006 to 31 December 2009.
	
		
			  Sport England 
			  (£) 
			  Sport  Programme-Exchequer  Programme-Lottery 
			 Bobsleigh  12,000 
			 Ice Hockey 311,176 164,800 
			 Ice Skating 48,000 107,349 
			 Alpine skiing and snowboarding(1) 152,613 832,387 
			 Curling  651 
			 Skiing 70,000 7,782 
			 Total 581,789 1,124,969 
			 (1) Alpine skiing and snowboarding awards are based on funding provided between 2009 and 2013.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Morocco: International Assistance

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the compatibility of the decision of the Moroccan Government to expel volunteer workers, including citizens of EU member states, on charges of proselytizing members of the Kafala community and orphaned children through their work at the Village of Hope/Village de l'Esperance at Ain Leuh with the conditions relating to human rights and freedom of religion in agreements between the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Our officials in London met with the Moroccan chargé d'affaires on 10 March to express the UK's concerns. Our officials in Rabat have asked the Moroccan authorities for a full briefing on the matter.
	Morocco has a good record on freedom of worship. Moroccan officials tell us that they remain committed to ensuring freedom of worship and religious tolerance; however proselytising remains illegal in Morocco.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not held specific discussions on this point with his EU counterparts.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Carer's Allowance

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will bring forward proposals to increase the level of the carer's allowance.

Jonathan R Shaw: The level of carer's allowance is reviewed annually and up-rated in April, in line with the September Retail Prices Index. This year, however, the September Retail Prices Index was negative so, as announced in the uprating statement, to help carers during the early stages of economic recovery, we are proposing bringing forward a 1.5 per cent. increase. This means that the weekly rate of carer's allowance will be increased from £53.10 to £53.90 in April 2010. The rate will be increased again in 2011 to make up the difference with the Retail Prices Index for September 2010, thus preserving the real terms increase in future years.
	The carer's allowance weekly earnings limit is being increased from £95 to £100 from 12 April 2010.

Carers' Benefits

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the £38 million for Jobcentre Plus referred to in the 2008 National Carers Strategy intended to help carers to move into work has been spent by Jobcentre Plus to date; on what projects and programmes it has been spent; and whether the whole amount is ring-fenced for employment support for carers.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 5 March 2010
	 Work Focused Support for Carers was introduced in December 2009 and provides one to one adviser support, referral to appropriate training opportunities and financial help for carers not eligible for other programmes, aged 18 or over and not in full-time work. We estimate that up to 4,000 people a year will take part.
	Jobcentre Plus has up to £38 million available for the 2008 National Carers Strategy. The funding is all for use on providing support to carer's and is available to:
	introduce a network of care partnership managers
	provide training for care partnership managers and Jobcentre Plus advisers
	introduce a job search tool to identify jobs that offer flexible working, and
	fund replacement care from December 2009 for carers participating in approved training.
	As at February 2010, Jobcentre Plus have invested £2 million to fund the recruitment and salaries of care partnership managers in each Jobcentre Plus district and the training of Jobcentre Plus advisers, nationally. The £2 million invested to the end of February 2010 is on budget and to schedule.
	Of the funding set aside for replacement care from December 2009, it is too early to report expenditure at this stage.
	Additionally, many carers already have access to separately funded employment programmes because of their other circumstances, for example, lone parents or partners of people claiming benefit.

Children: Maintenance

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) value and  (b) percentage of payments to the Child Support Agency were made by credit card in each of the last three years.

Helen Goodman: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) value and (b) percentage of payments to the Child Support Agency were made by credit card in each of the last three years.
	The value and percentage of payments to the Child Support Agency made only by credit card is not available.
	I am sorry on this occasion I cannot be more helpful.

Community Development: Expenditure

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding has been granted under the Deprived Area Fund in each  (a) local authority and  (b) lower layer super output area in each year since 2000.

Angela Eagle: The Deprived Areas Fund (DAF) was created in 2006. Allocations are calculated on the basis of the relative levels of worklessness at ward level.
	For the available information on the allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 25 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 783-5W.
	From April 2008 onwards the DAF in England has been pooled with resources from Communities and Local Government to form the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF).
	It is not possible to provide a further breakdown of DAF at either local authority or lower super output area level as the allocation of the fund is not defined by such boundaries.

Council Tax Benefits and Housing Benefit: Tyne and Wear

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) housing benefit and  (b) council tax benefit recipients there were in (i) the City of Newcastle, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) North Tyneside and (iv) Gateshead in each quarter between February 2007 and February 2010.

Jonathan R Shaw: The available information is in the tables
	
		
			  Housing benefit recipients in Tyneside local authorities; quarterly February 2007 to August 2007 
			   2007 
			   February  May  August 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 28,370 27,910 28,180 
			 South Tyneside 17,520 16,460 16,880 
			 North Tyneside 16,570 16,450 16,330 
			 Gateshead 20,070 20,010 19,780 
		
	
	
		
			  Council tax benefit recipients in Tyneside local authorities; quarterly February 2007to August 2007 
			   2007 
			   February  May  August 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 32,350 32,140 32,110 
			 South Tyneside 21,830 20,560 21,180 
			 North Tyneside 21,590 21,490 21,380 
			 Gateshead 25,580 25,700 25,520 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 5. Council tax benefit figures exclude any single adult rebate cases. 6. Figures are at the second Thursday in each month provided.  Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. taken in February 2000 - August 2007 
		
	
	
		
			  Housing benefit recipients in Tyneside local authorities; quarterly November 2008 to November 2009 
			   2008  2009 
			   November  February  May  August  November 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 28,820 29,580 29,990 30,460 30,370 
			 South Tyneside 17,490 18,020 18,130 18,350 18,660 
			 North Tyneside 16,720 17,230 17,350 17,620 17,720 
			 Gateshead 19,980 20,260 20,710 21,010 21,180 
		
	
	
		
			  Council tax benefit recipients in Tyneside local authorities; quarterly November 2008 to November 2009 
			   2008  2009 
			   November  February  May  August  November 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 32,280 33,230 33,690 34,270 34,240 
			 South Tyneside 21,630 22,210 22,330 22,520 22,810 
			 North Tyneside 21,210 22,080 22,240 22,520 22,630 
			 Gateshead 25,230 25,580 25,970 26,260 26,510 
			  Notes: 1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 5. Council tax benefit figures exclude any single adult rebate cases. 6. SHBE is a monthly electronic scan of claimant level data direct from local authority computer systems. It replaces quarterly aggregate clerical returns. These data are available monthly from November 2008 and November 2009 is the most recent available. 7. Data from SHBE incorporates the local authority changes from 1 April 2009. 8. Figures are at the second Thursday in each month provided.  Source:  Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) for October 2009 and November 2008 taken from Table 8 and Table 14 of publication at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/HBCTB19082009.xls

Departmental Carbon Emissions

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether  (a) her Department,  (b) its agencies and  (c) associated non-departmental public bodies plan to sign up to the 10:10 campaign for cutting carbon usage in 2010; and if she will publish the (i) criteria and (ii) research upon which such a decision will be taken.

Jonathan R Shaw: My Department, its agencies and associated non-departmental public bodies have not signed up to the 10:10 campaign to cut carbon emissions in 2010, but are supportive of the aims of the campaign.
	My Department has delivered significant reductions in carbon emissions from our buildings and road travel, by 14 per cent. and 30 per cent. respectively over the last two years. In 2007-08 an estates emissions reduction of 10.8 per cent. was achieved. While this proves that such a reduction is possible, my Department continues to bear a significantly increased work load to support those impacted by the recession. While we remain committed to the achievement of the carbon reductions targets from Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (our progress is detailed in the Sustainable Development in Government report), it is the opinion of my officials that it would be unrealistic for the Department to commit to a further 10 per cent. reduction in a single year from an already low baseline and with an expanding business.
	During December my Department has achieved the Carbon Trust Standard, and we remain committed to actively reducing our carbon emissions. We will exploit, where possible, low carbon technologies and we will be shortly relaunching our energy efficiency campaign across our estate.

Departmental Catering

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the monetary value was of the subsidy paid by her Department in respect of food and drink on sale to staff of  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies at official premises in each of the last five years.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department provides an annual subsidy for various catering outlets that sell food and drink to staff. This subsidy allows outlets to remain viable and varies depending on a number of factors, such as location and canteen usage. There are currently 129 sites with catering outlets, housing around 39,000 staff.
	The total value of the subsidy paid by the department for each of the five years is in the following table:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2004-05 4.24 
			 2005-06 4.02 
			 2006-07 3.90 
			 2007-08 3.72 
			 2008-09 3.47

Departmental Manpower

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many external contractors were employed by her Department in the last 12 months; and at what cost to the public purse;
	(2)  for how long on average staff on interim contracts are employed by her Department;
	(3)  how many people in her Department are employed on interim contracts; and at what cost to the public purse.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 28 January 2010
	 Contractors and interims are individuals engaged by the Department to provide specific skills or support that is not available in-house or within the required time frame.
	The number of contractors/interims working in December 2009 within DWP on that basis was 355. This should be seen in the context of a Department employing well over 100,000 staff. Such contractors are only engaged with the prior approval of an appropriate senior civil servant and their agreement can only be extended beyond 12 months with the approval of the permanent secretary.
	During the period from January to December 2009 (inclusive) the associated spend on such contractors was approximately £43 million.
	The average tenure of an interim appointment within DWP is currently 9.7 months.

Departmental Manpower

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of staff in  (a) her Department and  (b) the executive agencies for which she is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in (i) her Department and (ii) the executive agencies is of (A) full-time disabled staff, (B) full-time non-disabled staff, (C) part-time disabled staff and (D) part-time non-disabled staff.

Jonathan R Shaw: We are aware that not all staff declare their disability for departmental records, and the true representation of disabled people across the Department may be higher than the figures shown. For example, the 2009 People survey (which is completed anonymously), showed that 10.5 per cent. of respondents considered themselves to have a long standing health condition or disability.
	Due to the self-reporting nature of disability and the process by which part time salaries are up-rated in order that they are comparable to full-time staff salaries, care should be exercised when drawing conclusions based on these statistics. The following table shows the numbers and proportion of disabled and non disabled staff for DWP and its executive agencies.
	
		
			   Disabled  Non Disabled  Not declared or  non-response  Disabled as a percentage of known disability status 
			 DWP Corporate Services 310 6,740 710 4.3 
			 DWP Shared Services 130 3,800 650 3.2 
			 Pension and Disability Carers Service 670 14,510 1,550 4.4 
			 Job Centre Plus 4,190 62,930 10,360 6.2 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 :  Median Earnings of disabled and non-disabled staff, broken down by full-time and part-time working patterns for each business within DWP and its executive agencies 
			   Full - time  Part - time 
			   Non disabled  Disabled  Non disabled  Disabled 
			 DWP Corporate Services £28,900 £27,370 £25,730 £23,990 
			 DWP Shared Services £17,600 £17,600 £17,600 £17,600 
			 Pension and Disability Carers Service £17,600 £17,600 £17,600 £17,600 
			 Jobcentre Plus £20,430 £22,310 £19,480 £20,170 
		
	
	The statistics are drawn from Departmental records and have been collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES). The latest published statistics are for 31 March 2009.

Directgov: Contracts

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on  (a) contractors and  (b) strategic advisers under the directgov programme in (i) 2007-08 and (ii) 2008-09; and what the estimated expenditure on each is in 2009-10.

Angela Eagle: The information is as follows:
	 (a) Directgov spent the following on contractors:
	(i) 2007-08 £3.0 million
	(ii) 2008-09 £7.4 million
	The estimated spend on contractors in 2009-10 is £8.2 million.
	It should be noted that the increase from 2007-08 to 2008-09 was to deliver programmes such as website convergence and cross-government service transformation. The percentage of Directgov's budget spent on contractors remained the same.
	Contractors are required to fill short-term posts and posts where it has not been possible to recruit permanent staff due to their specialist nature.
	 (b) There were no strategic adviser costs incurred in 2007-08 or 2008-09.
	The strategic adviser costs for 2009-10 are included within the spend shown for that year. This is a short-term post and providing the information separately would allow the individual's day rate to be calculated which is both commercially sensitive and considered to be personally identifiable data.
	Contractor posts are tendered to ensure Directgov obtains high quality candidates and achieve value for money. This is underpinned by benchmarking the rates and charges to ensure they are within benchmark guidelines. Directgov also negotiates day rates and margins in line with, if not better than, than standard government contract rates.
	Directgov is working across Departments to enable transformation of digital public service delivery and has the potential to enable Government to make substantial savings in shifting from traditional to digital channels and for those channels to be used.

Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 February 2010,  Official Report, column 86WS, on Right to Control (Trailblazer sites) how many bids her Department received to become Trailblazer sites; and what the name was of each bidder.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department received a strong field of bids from 43 local authorities wishing to take part in the Right to Control Trailblazers. Taking into account joint bids, this amounted to bids from 36 potential Trailblazer areas.
	The Trailblazers that were selected represent a good mix in terms of demography, geography, and different types of local authorities (two-tier authorities, unitary authorities, metropolitan and London boroughs).
	The local authorities that submitted a bid were:
	 Joint bids
	Coventry and Warwickshire
	Barnsley and Sheffield(1)
	Greater Manchester(1) this includes Manchester City, Bury, Trafford, Stockport, and Oldham
	Islington and Westminster
	 Single bids
	Barnet(1)
	Bexley
	Bournemouth
	Blackpool
	Bradford
	Calderdale
	Central Bedfordshire
	Darlington
	Derbyshire
	Durham
	Enfield
	Essex(1)
	Hampshire
	Kent
	Kirklees
	Lambeth
	Leicester(1)
	Newham(1)
	Norfolk
	Northamptonshire
	Nottinghamshire
	Peterborough
	Portsmouth
	Redbridge
	Redcar and Cleveland(1)
	Rotherham
	St. Helens
	Staffordshire
	Stockton
	Surrey(1)
	Wakefield
	Worcestershire
	(1 )Selected Trailblazers.

Economic Situation

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for which policies implemented as part of the Government's response to the recession her Department is responsible; when each such policy was determined; what timetable has been set for the implementation of each such policy; and what funding under each budget heading has been allocated to each such policy.

Angela Eagle: The Government have made available up to £5 billion additional discretionary spending to support people through the course of the recession. This has been used in a variety of ways-and the bulk of this has been for this Department to lead on. Of this £5 billion we expect to spend £2.1 billion in 2009-10 and £2.9 billion in 2010-11.
	As a result of the investment that the Government have made, claimant unemployment was over 450,000 lower at the end of 2009 than was expected at the time of the Budget 2009. This has also allowed us to use this funding flexibly to ensure it can be directed to where it can support people in the greatest need. To maintain such flexibility, we have not ring-fenced allocations to each element.
	The following DWP programmes are funded from this budget:
	 Increasing resources available to Jobcentre Plus, employment programmes and local authorities
	We announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report, and in the Budget 2009, that we would be providing extra funding to Jobcentre Plus to effectively handle the higher volume of customers through the recession. That funding was provided immediately and Jobcentre Plus has increased staffing levels by 16,000. The funding also allowed increase in programme budgets to core programmes including the new deals and the flexible new deal. Benefit exit rates have been maintained and over 330,000 people left JSA in January alone.
	 Additional support before redundancy
	In November 2008, we quadrupled the funding to deliver the Jobcentre Plus' Rapid Response Service which offers support to employers and workers who are facing redundancy. Since the service was expanded, more than 4,000 employers have taken up this support.
	 Additional day one support for all
	From the start of a new jobseeker's allowance claim, customers can access improved help from Jobcentre Plus to get them back to work quickly. This support can include one-to-one adviser support, coaching and access to Local Employment Partnership vacancies.
	In April 2009, we introduced new specialist help for professionals and executives, delivered by external recruitment agencies, to help them with jobsearch techniques and give them advice specific to their needs and experience. In our December White Paper "Building Britain's Recovery", we announced our intention to extend this support further by offering professionals and executives follow-up sessions.
	 Six month offer for all
	Every jobseeker's allowance customer who remains unemployed for six months or more now have access to a substantially improved range of services including access to recruitment subsidies vouchers, work-focused training and volunteering placements and help to become self employed through the six month offer.
	The six month offer was introduced in April 2009 and provides opportunities for up to 230,000 people. Between April 2009 to October 2009, 39,420 people has taken up the support offered through the six month offer.
	Furthermore, access to self employment support and the financial credit is now available to all jobseekers after three months.
	 Young Persons Guarantee and the Future Jobs Fund
	The Young Persons Guarantee launched on 25 January 2010 guarantees all young jobseekers aged 18-24 a job, training or work experience from six months unemployment. From April 2010 young people will be required to take up one of the options on offer if they are still unemployed after 10 months. The Future Jobs Fund is a key element of the guarantee, where local authorities, partnerships and others (such as third sector or social enterprises) are able to bid to create jobs through the fund.
	The first FJF jobs began in October 2009, and to date Government have agreed to fund up to 110,000 FJF jobs; around 65 per cent. of the 170,000 jobs the fund is targeted to fund.
	The YPG is also supported by over 400,000 Government funded training, internship, work experience and job opportunities. This will include a target of 16,000 apprenticeship places through the FJF.
	Graduates are also eligible for a new graduate guarantee, where any new graduate still unemployed after six months is guaranteed access to an internship, training or help to become self-employed.
	 Backing Young Britain
	The BYB campaign was launched in July 2009. This national campaign delivers a variety of measures to help young people aged 16-24 into work, or move closer to the labour market. As well as encouraging business to support young people by offering jobs, apprenticeships and work experience places, it will create 10,000 mentoring places, 5,000 short term work experience placements and 20,000 longer term non-graduate internships, as well as supporting the graduate internships already announced. Places are available now.
	870 organisations have signed up to BYB to date (at 8 March 2010), with the number growing all the time.
	 Additional support for older workers
	In the "Building Britain's Recovery" White Paper we committed to provide additional back to work support to people aged 50 and over. This support includes more time with a personal adviser, access to specialist back to work support and giving people early access to the six month offer.
	These new measures will be delivered from spring 2010.
	 Help for homeowners
	Improvements to the help provided to homeowners through the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme were introduced in January 2009 for new working age claims, which:
	shortened the waiting period to 13 weeks
	increased capital limit to £200,000,
	introduced 2 year time limit for new JSA claims
	froze the standard interest rate used to calculate Support for Mortgage Interest at 6.08 per cent. for all customers (including pensioners), until the end of June 2010 benefiting around 220,000 homeowners.
	Once the standard interest rate freeze ends, the Government intend to move towards a fairer, more affordable approach, that more closely reflects mortgage interest rates.
	These changes demonstrate very clearly the Government's commitment to provide additional support to those facing financial difficulties and help protect them against repossessions and will be reviewed once the housing market conditions improve.

Employment Schemes

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many Jobcentre Plus offices have used  (a) extended postal signing,  (b) telephone jobsearch reviews,  (c) suspension of signing,  (d) 13-week interviews by telephone and  (e) 13-week group sessions in each month since flexible interventions were first used; and how many Jobcentre Plus customers were the subject of each such practice;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have used flexible interventions in each month since they were first used; and how many customers have been the subject of such interventions.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many Jobcentre Plus offices have used (a) extended postal signing, (b) telephone jobsearch reviews, (c) suspension of signing, (d) 13-week interviews by telephone and (e) 13-week group sessions in each month since flexible interventions were first used; and how many Jobcentre Plus customers were the subject of each such practice; and what estimate she has made of the number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have used flexible interventions in each month since they were first used; and how many customers have been the subject of such interventions. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Flexible interventions were introduced at a time of rapidly increasing demand on our services and before we had the opportunity to increase our staffing levels to meet those demands. We have subsequently recruited additional staff which in turn has allowed us to reduce the number of flexible interventions deployed. In some circumstances, we have decided to deploy our flexibilities into our core business as part of our improved delivery model, in order to further improve customer service. During the economic downturn, despite these increased demands, Jobcentre Plus maintained and improved performance and is meeting all of its key performance targets.
	A total of 19 flexible interventions were approved. The number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have deployed the specific flexible interventions you requested information on are detailed in the table below. However, management information on the number of customers who have been the subject of these interventions is not collected.
	
		
			   Extended postal signing  Telephone jobsearch reviews  Suspension of signing  13 week interviews by telephone  13 week group sessions 
			  2009  
			 April 4 0 1 34 19 
			 May 1 2 0 55 69 
			 June 0 0 0 61 76 
			 July 0 0 0 8 82 
			 August 0 0 0 2 83 
			 September 0 0 1 1 84 
			 October 0 0 0 4 75 
			 November 0 2 0 1 57 
			 December 0 0 0 0 56 
			   
			  2010  
			 January 0 0 0 0 55 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus Management Information. 
		
	
	The number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have deployed one or more of the approved flexible interventions are detailed in the following table. Management information on the number of customers who have been subject to these interventions is not collected.
	
		
			   Number of Jobcentre Plus offices that have used flexible interventions 
			  2009  
			 April 557 
			 May 470 
			 June 570 
			 July 628 
			 August 627 
			 September 636 
			 October 657 
			 November 687 
			 December 689 
			   
			  2010  
			 January 691 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus Management Information. 
		
	
	By introducing these flexibilities our level of customer service was not adversely affected whilst customer volumes were rising. For example the suspension of signing in two offices did not lead to a delay in benefits being paid.
	I hope this information is helpful.

Employment Schemes

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how  (a) her Department and  (b) the Work Choice prime contractor will ensure that participants with learning difficulties are not adversely affected by the transition to new employment officers.

Jim Knight: holding answer 5 March 2010
	Work Choice will contribute to an increased level of employment for disabled people, particularly (but not exclusively) for customers with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. In this respect, the new programme will deliver against the objectives of Public Service Agreement 16: Socially Excluded Adults.
	The Department has worked extensively with a range of stakeholders, including Equality 2025, Cabinet Office (including the Public Service Agreement 16 Working Group) and the Department of Health to provide a range of support to understand and meet the complex needs of people with learning difficulties.
	The Department has produced a range of support products, including easy read versions, to assist WORKSTEP providers in communicating the changes to their customers. These products have been designed for support advisers to use as a focus during face to face discussions with individual customers.
	As the transition period progresses, further staged products will be introduced via providers to ensure customers are fully supported in their journey from WORKSTEP to Work Choice.
	The Department worked extensively with bidding organisations in the early stages of the competition to ensure they understood the Public Service Agreement 16 commitment, integral to the Work Choice design, to support adults most at risk of social exclusion-in particular those with mental health and learning disabilities.
	The Department is continuing to work closely with bidding organisations to ensure those with learning difficulties receive appropriate communication materials and the support they need during the transition period.
	During the transition period, Work Choice providers will work alongside existing WORKSTEP providers and the Department to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for participants.
	Work Choice providers will contact each customer at the earliest opportunity to introduce themselves and further explain the changes to the programme. These discussions will be tailored to best suit customers' needs and may, for example, entail several discussions with the support of others, where this is appropriate.
	In developing the service requirement for the new Work Choice programme, the Project engaged with Disability Employment Advisory Committee, Equality 2025, Cabinet Office (who have PSA16 responsibility), a range of local authorities and a range of local authority representatives. We continue to work closely with all these organisations on implementation issues, through our Implementation Working Group.

Employment Schemes

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the average cost to  (a) private sector providers and  (b) voluntary sector providers of supporting people on (i) Pathways to Work, (ii) Workstep, (iii) New Deal for Disabled People, into (A) work and (B) sustained work defined as 26 weeks, in respect of clients with (1) mental health conditions, (2) musculoskeletal diseases and (3) visual impairment.

Jonathan R Shaw: As part of the tender evaluation process we ask potential prime contractors to put forward an overall price for the service they are offering. Tenders are evaluated against a combination of quality and price criteria. We do not make any estimate of providers' average costs. The onus is on providers to submit costs that fully cover the cost of their service.

Employment Schemes: Young People

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 1028-29W, on employment schemes: young people, in which  (a) Jobcentre Plus districts,  (b) local authorities and  (c) constituencies the young person's guarantee was not fully available on or after 25 January 2010.

Jim Knight: The Young Person's Guarantee has been fully available in  (a) Jobcentre Plus districts,  (b) all local authorities and  (c) all constituencies, since 25 January 2010.

Employment: Elderly

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged over 60 years and actively seeking work found employment in the last 12 month period for which figures are available; and what proportion of the number of those actively seeking work this represented.

Jim Knight: The information is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of people age 60 and over who have found work in the last 12 months and as a proportion of total jobseeker's allowance claimants age 60 and over 
			   Found work  Increases work to 16+ hours/week  Total  Claimant count  Proportion (Percentage) 
			  2008  
			 December 950 20 970 12,990 7.5 
			   
			  2009  
			 January 610 25 635 15,925 4.0 
			 February 1,445 45 1,490 18,195 8.2 
			 March 1,410 40 1,450 19,300 7.5 
			 April 1,495 35 1,530 20,170 7.6 
			 May 1,765 50 1,815 20,240 9.0 
			 June 1,535 40 1,575 19,670 8.0 
			 July 1,525 35 1,560 19,300 8.1 
			 August 1,735 25 1,760 19,020 9.3 
			 September 1,495 35 1,530 18,230 8.4 
			 October 1,450 15 1,465 17,925 8.2 
			 November 1,800 40 1,840 17,780 10.3 
			  Notes: 1. Data is rounded to the nearest five; and percentages to one decimal place. Claimant count information is published on the Nomis website at: www.nomisweb.co.uk 2. The percentage of people leaving with an unknown destination recorded has increased over the last 10 years. This is because the completion levels of the JSA40 (forms filled in by people leaving jobseeker's allowance) have decreased over this period. Many of these "unknown" leavers will have moved into employment or other benefits.  Source: Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems (computer held cases only). 
		
	
	Older workers who fail to get back into employment and become long term unemployed face a significant risk of not being in a position to take advantage of the upturn. In response, the Government have already made available £0.5 billion additional support to help prevent people out of work from becoming long-term unemployed. In addition to rolling out Flexible New Deal, which is providing support tailored to meet the individual needs of jobseekers of all ages, we have doubled the resources available to help people facing redundancy, have introduced a financial incentive for employers who recruit people out of work for six months or more, and have introduced extra funding for training places.
	The measures in the new Employment White Paper, "Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment" (Cm 7751), will strengthen specific areas where we know there is a case for dong something extra for people over 50. These measures, which will be delivered from spring 2010, include:
	Additional time and training for Jobcentre Plus Advisers;
	New specialist back to work support for the over 50s;
	Widening access for over 50s to work trials;
	Enabling people over 50 with significant barriers to employment to get early access to the Six Month Offer; and
	A new National Guidance Initiative to encourage and help employers to adopt flexible approaches to work and retirement.

Future Jobs Fund

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of the 95,000 jobs announced through the Future Jobs Fund have been granted funding.

Angela Eagle: Overall, the Future Jobs Fund is expected to create 170,000 jobs. To date, 110,000 have been agreed, and of those, 73,000 have been granted funding. We are currently working with the remaining successful bidders to agree start dates and delivery plans, and to check European state aid legislation compliance ahead of awarding funding.
	During the time between announcement and funding, the successful bidders also begin to prepare for their new workers.

Future Jobs Fund

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities are participating in the Future Jobs Fund; and which have plans to do so.

Jim Knight: This information is available only where the local authority is the lead bidder. A list of local authority lead bidders is as follows. Future Jobs Fund activity is happening throughout the country, creating up to 110,000 jobs so far.
	We are engaged in discussions with a number of local authorities about further bids. These discussions are confidential at this stage.
	 Local authorities participating in the Future Jobs Fund by region . The local authority listed is when it is the lead bidder.
	 Region: East of England
	Bedford
	Cambridgeshire
	Central Beds
	Colchester
	Harlow
	Luton
	Norfolk
	Peterborough
	Suffolk
	 Region: East Midlands
	Bolsover
	Erewash
	Leicester and Leicester Partnership
	Nottinghamshire
	West Lindsey
	 Region: London
	Barking and Dagenham
	Bromley
	Camden
	Ealing
	Enfield
	Greenwich
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Haringey
	Havering
	Host Borough Councils
	Hounslow
	Islington
	Kingston
	Lewisham
	RB Kensington and Chelsea
	Redbridge East Enders
	Southwark Earn and learn
	Westminster
	 Region: North East
	Darlington BC
	Hartlepool
	Middlesbrough
	North Tyneside
	Redcar and Cleveland Borough LSP
	Stockton on Tees
	 Region: North West
	Blackpool
	Cheshire West and Chester
	Copeland
	Cumbria
	Lancashire
	Liverpool City Region
	 Region: Scotland
	Aberdeen
	Aberdeenshire
	Angus
	Argyll and Bute
	City of Edinburgh
	Clackmannanshire Alliance
	Dumfries and Galloway
	Dundee
	East Ayrshire
	East Dunbartonshire
	East Lothian
	Falkirk
	Fife
	Glasgow
	Highland
	Inverclyde
	Midlothian
	North Ayrshire
	North Lanarkshire
	Renfrewshire C
	Scottish Borders
	South Ayrshire
	South Lanarkshire
	Stirling Council Youth Services
	West Dunbartonshire
	West Lothian
	 Region: South East
	Brighton and Hove
	Bucks
	Hampshire
	Hastings
	Kent
	Milton Keynes
	Oxfordshire
	RB Windsor and Maidenhead
	Thanet
	West Sussex County Council
	 Region: South West
	Avon and Somerset Probation
	Bristol County Council
	Cornwall CC
	Devon
	Dorset
	Somerset
	Swindon
	Trowbridge
	Wiltshire County Council
	 Region: Wales
	Cardiff
	Carmarthenshire County Council
	Merthyr Tydfil CBC
	Neath Port Talbot CBC
	Pembroke County Council
	Vale of Glam Council
	 Region: West Midlands
	Birmingham, Coventry and Black Country
	Hereford
	Shropshire Council County Training
	Shropshire County Council
	Stoke on Trent
	Stoke-on-Trent County Council and Staffordshire
	Warwickshire County Council
	Worcestershire
	 Region: Yorkshire and Humber
	Barnsley MDC
	Calderdale
	City of Bradford
	Doncaster
	Hull
	Humber Economic Partnership
	Kirklees Council
	Leeds
	North Yorkshire
	North Yorkshire Learning Consortium
	Sheffield City Council
	VC Train Consortium
	Wakefield Met

Hotels

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many separate bookings at five star or above hotels were made by her Department under its contract with Expotel in the last 12 months; and at what cost.

Jonathan R Shaw: DWP's business travel policy strictly stipulates that 5-star hotels must not be requested by staff, regardless of grade.
	Exceptionally, 5-star accommodation may be booked if it clearly provides better value for money than comparable 4-star accommodation.
	The number of bookings and expenditure on 5-star hotel accommodation over the last 12 months (January to December 2009) are set out in the table. The number of bookings represents 0.1 per cent. of total hotel bookings within the Department.
	
		
			   Number/£ 
			 Number of bookings 87 
			 Expenditure (£) 14,697.50

Housing Benefit

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average processing time of applications for  (a) new and  (b) reassessed claims was in (i) the UK and (ii) each of the smallest geographical areas for which figures are available in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Helen Goodman: Information is only available for Great Britain. Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
	The available information for local authorities in Great Britain between 2003-04 and 2007-08 has been placed in the Library. The data quality for 2008-09 was not high enough for publication.
	The Department has been working with local authorities to improve data quality. This month we intend to publish processing time information for April to September 2009, for between 270 and 300 local authorities whose data meets official statistics standards.

Jobcentre Plus: Buildings

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many jobcentres have undergone estates works to enable them to meet demand for their services in the last 12 months; and at what cost;
	(2)  for how many Jobcentre Plus offices estates works are planned to enable them to meet demand; and what the total estimated cost is of all such works;
	(3)  which Jobcentre Plus offices that closed in each of the last six years have been re-opened; when each was re-opened; and what the cost was of  (a) closing and  (b) re-opening each;
	(4)  which Jobcentre Plus offices that closed in each of the last six years are under consideration for re-opening; and what estimate has been made of the cost of  (a) the closure and  (b) re-opening of each.

Jim Knight: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is the responsibility of the chief executive, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the right hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many jobcentres have undergone estates works to enable them to meet demand for their services in the last 12 months and at what cost; how many Jobcentre Plus offices estate works are planned to enable them to meet demand and what the total estimated cost is of all such works; which Jobcentre Plus offices which closed in each of the last six years have been re-opened, when each was reopened and what the cost was of (a) closing and (b) re-opening each; and which Jobcentre Plus offices which closed in each of the last six years are under consideration for re-opening and what estimate has been made of the cost of (a) the closure and (b) re-opening of each. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	In order to ensure that Jobcentre Plus was capable of meeting the challenge of rising caseload volumes as a result of the current economic climate, Customer Service Directors undertook a review of existing services delivery arrangements in each District. This review also took account of planned welfare reform changes for the next two to three years, and the latest known information on the expected increase in business and customer volumes.
	This exercise identified a requirement for work in 429 locations to increase capacity for dealing with the higher volumes of customers and to accommodate additional staff. The extent of this work varied from location to location, and we developed a range of solutions to meet additional capacity requirements. We have embarked on a programme of converting or extending our existing buildings where necessary and in the vast majority of sites affected there is sufficient internal space to enable capacity increases by converting under-utilised general office space. In sites where increased capacity is required, the work carried out is reversible and of a temporary nature. Estate modification works have so far been completed in 392 buildings to support meeting the challenge of prevailing economic conditions. The final cost of modification works at these sites is not yet known and will be published in due course.
	In order to make our services more accessible to customers we are providing a range of support through outreach, often delivering advisory and other support on partners' premises. We are supplementing these measures by operating extended opening hours in some locations where the need for this is identified locally. This includes some offices opening to the public on Saturday.
	We only acquire new temporary space where all other measures are insufficient and Jobcentre Plus presence in these buildings will be clearly badged as temporary facilities. Jobcentre Plus have considered re-opening four offices, which were previously open to the public but have been closed in the last six years, for temporary re-occupation. These sites are detailed at Annex A.
	These offices in Annex A were previously closed as part of the Jobcentre Plus modernisation programme. In 2002 Jobcentre Plus inherited around 1,500 offices from the merger of the former Benefits Agency and Employment service. At the time of merger the two organisations had many offices which were geographically close to each other, often in the same street. The modernisation programme has modernised our Jobcentre network to improve customer service, rationalising our estate to provide excellent high street coverage and a single, integrated customer facing office, at the same time reducing cost to the taxpayer. We remain the largest office network in Government with 741 modern Jobcentres supported by 31 modern, industry standard contact centres and 79 main benefit processing centres.
	The four offices listed in Annex A have now re-opened and are delivering an appointment-only based service to customers. No further offices which have been closed in the last six years are currently under consideration for re-opening. The original lease exit costs of closing the offices are also included in Annex A. The cost of re-occupation is yet to be finalised.
	The Jobcentre Plus estate remains under constant review, taking into account prevailing economic conditions and changes in our service delivery planning. The work recently carried out on our buildings, to meet the challenge of increased business and customer volumes, is of a temporary nature. This ensures we retain the ability to cope with the ever changing demands on Jobcentre Plus, without unnecessarily burdening ourselves with permanent, costly estate which we will not need after the economy has recovered.
	I hope this information is helpful.
	 Annex A
	
		
			  Jobcentre Plus considered re-opening four offices, which were previously open to the public but have been closed in the last six years, for temporary re-occupation 
			  Region  Location  Cost of closure (£)  Now re-opened to the public? 
			 West Midlands South Northfield, Birmingham 336,183 Yes, re-opened for appointment only service from 23 November 2009 
			 London Broadway, Bexleyheath 757,909 Yes, re-opened for appointment only service from 8 March 2010 
			 North West Great Moor Street, Bolton (1)- Yes, re-opened for appointment only service from 30 November 2009 
			 West Midlands Erdington, Birmingham (1)- Yes, re-opened for appointment only service from 7 December 2009 
			 (1 )Not known.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have made a claim for jobseeker's allowance  (a) nationally and  (b) in each London borough in each of the last 24 months.

Angela Eagle: The information is not available as no record is made of the number of claims made for jobseeker's allowance each month.
	However, the number of active jobseeker's allowance claims is recorded. The available information has been placed in the Library and is also available online at:
	https://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Jobseeker's Allowance

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  by what mechanisms the effect of a person's occupational or personal pension on their entitlement to contribution-based jobseeker's allowance is calculated;
	(2)  whether person's entitlement to contribution-based jobseeker's allowance is means-tested according to the  (a) savings and  (b) personal or occupational pension income of that (i) person and (ii) their household.

Helen Goodman: holding answer 4 March 2010
	 There are two types of jobseeker's allowance-contribution-based and income-based. Contribution-based jobseeker's allowance is based on how many national insurance contributions have been paid over the last two complete tax years.
	Income-based jobseeker's allowance is dependent on income and savings. For contribution-based jobseeker's allowance, personal and household capital and savings are not taken into account when determining entitlement. However, periodic payments of occupational and personal pensions made to the person claiming contribution-based jobseeker's allowance are taken into account. Pension payments made to anyone else within the household are not considered when deciding entitlement.
	When assessing the amount of contribution-based jobseeker's allowance that is payable to a person who is in receipt of a personal or occupational pension, the first £50 per week of that pension is disregarded. For each 1 pence over and above the £50 disregard, 1 pence of jobseeker's allowance is deducted. Under the present arrangements contribution-based jobseeker's allowance is only withdrawn completely from those with pension or annuity payments of more than £114.30 per week, based on April 2009 benefit rates.
	General guidance on the application and interpretation of jobseeker's allowance rules for our decision makers can be found in the decision makers guide. A copy of the guide is available in the Library and on the Department for Work and Pensions' website at
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/decision-makers-guide/

Jobseeker's Allowance: South East

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average duration of a jobseeker's allowance claim was in each local authority area in the South East in each of the last  (a) 12 months and  (b) five years.

Helen Goodman: The requested information has been placed in the Library.

Occupational Pensions

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department has taken to ensure companies may not end defined benefit schemes for their employees without full consultation.

Angela Eagle: holding answer 9 March 2010
	Employers with 50 or more employees who propose closing a defined benefit occupational pension scheme to new members or to future accrual must consult the affected members of the pension scheme or their representatives for at least 60 days before implementing the change.
	The Pensions Regulator has powers to impose a penalty on an employer who fails to comply with this requirement to consult.

Pension Credit

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have claimed pension credit in each quarter since April 2008.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is not available.

Pensions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those employed in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector were active members of an occupational pension scheme in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Eagle: The number of active members of occupational pension schemes in the public and private sectors are set out in the following table.
	
		
			   Public sector  Private sector  Total 
			 1953 3.1 3.1 6.2 
			 1956 3.7 4.3 8.0 
			 1963 3.9 7.2 11.1 
			 1967 4.1 8.1 12.2 
			 1971 4.3 6.8 11.1 
			 1975 5.4 6.0 11.4 
			 1979 5.5 6.1 11.6 
			 1983 5.3 5.8 11.1 
			 1987 4.8 5.8 10.6 
			 1991 4.2 6.5 10.7 
			 1995 4.1 6.2 10.3 
			 2000 4.4 5.7 10.1 
			 2004 5.0 4.8 9.8 
			 2005 - 4.7 - 
			 2006 5.1 4.0 9.2 
			 2007 5.2 3.6 8.8 
			 2008 5.4 3.6 9.0 
			  Notes: 1. The 2005 survey did not cover the public sector and a total figure is therefore not available. 2. Due to changes in the definition of the public and private sectors, estimates for 2000 onwards differ from earlier years. From 2000, organisations such as the Post Office and the BBC were reclassified from the public to the private sectors. 3. Changes to the methodology for 2006 onwards mean that comparisons with 2005 and earlier years should be treated with caution.  Source: Occupational Pension Schemes Survey

Social Security Benefits: Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of jobseeker's allowance in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in the latest period for which figures are available; and what the average weekly payment made in such benefit was in that constituency in that period.

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of cases in payment and average weekly payment of jobseeker's allowance in the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency in August 2009 
			  Jobseeker's allowance  Number/£ 
			 Number of cases in payment 430 
			 Average weekly amount paid (£) 66.28 
			  Notes: 1. Benefit recipients are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Average weekly amounts are rounded to the nearest penny 3. All data refers to benefit recipients and will therefore exclude credits only and nil payment cases 4. Figures include number of cases in payment to couples and civil partnerships.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Social Security Benefits: Vulnerable Adults

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons vulnerable adults will only have continued support if they sign the data transfer form; and what advice she has taken on the compatibility of this practice with  (a) the Human Rights Act 1998 and  (b) other anti-discrimination legislation.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Work Choice programme guarantees a place for every WORKSTEP customer who chooses to transfer when the new programme commences in October 2010. We will work closely with all WORKSTEP customers to ensure they feel able to give their consent to give the incoming provider the information they need to be able to put the right support in place.
	Before Work Choice begins in October the new prime providers will not only have to undertake all the usual activities to set up and prepare their business but will also be under a contractual obligation to understand the often complex employment support needs of up to 14,000 current WORKSTEP customers that will transfer to them.
	To enable them to do this, Department for Work and Pensions officials have developed a process to transfer only the necessary minimum customer data from existing providers to incoming prime providers. The process and a supporting data transfer form have been developed in consultation with existing providers, bidders, the Department for Work and Pensions Provision Forum Work Choice Sub-group and the British Association for Supported Employment.
	The critical part of the process is for the customer to give their informed consent. They will be invited to do so by their current provider and will be advised that they can withdraw their consent at any time up to 14 days later.
	We expect the great majority of customers to give their consent. But any customers who express doubt about whether or not they should give their consent will be able to speak to a Disability Employment Adviser in Jobcentre Plus. If the customer is not reassured by, or if they do not wish to speak with the adviser, they will still be able to move to Work Choice.
	In those exceptional cases the current and future providers will agree a convenient time and place where the new provider can discuss with the customer the personal information that the new provider needs to effectively support the customer and to administer the programme.
	At all stages during the development of the data transfer process, the Work Choice project has been advised by solicitors in the Department's Legal Group to ensure that the process is compliant with all relevant legislation.

State Retirement Pensions

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the rate of basic state pension payable to  (a) single pensioners and  (b) couples (i) was in 1996-97 and (ii) will be in 2010-11; and what the 2010-11 rates would have been if they had been uprated since 1996-97 in line with prices.

Angela Eagle: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Level of the basic state pension 
			  £ per week 
			  Financial year  Standard rate on own contributions  Standard rate for couple where one spouse or civil  partner is reliant on the other' s contributions 
			 1996-97 61.15 97.75 
			 2010-11 (actual) 97.65 156.15 
			 2010-11 (price uprated) 87.50 139.75 
			  Notes: 1. All figures in cash terms. 2. Uprating calculations employ historic annual increase in the RPI series for September of the previous year. 3. The standard rate of the Category A pension (payable on a person's own contributions) is commonly referred to as the 'singles rate'. 4. Category B pension is about 60 per cent. of the standard rate basic Category A pension. It is currently payable by virtue of a husband's qualifying years or earnings, and from May 2010 or later will also be payable by virtue of a wife's or civil partner's contributions where the wife or civil partner was born after 5 April 1950 and has reached state pension age. 5. The sum of the Category A and Category B pension is often referred to as the 'couples rate'. 6. From 2010-11, anyone reaching SPA will have their BSP entitlement under reformed contributory conditions; 75 per cent. of women will have full basic state pension in their own right in 2010-11.

Winter Fuel Payments

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners received winter fuel allowance on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: For winter 2008-09, the last year for which information is available, 12,421,130 people aged 60 or over received the winter fuel payment.
	 Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. data.

Winter Fuel Payments

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for winter fuel payments were made by households in  (a) England,  (b) the East of England,  (c) Bedfordshire and  (d) Mid Bedfordshire constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: For winter 2008-09, the latest year for which information is available, the following numbers of winter fuel payments were made to households:
	
		
			   Number 
			 England 7,713,430 
			 East of England 894,710 
			 Bedfordshire 57,520 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 18,350 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.  Source:  DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent data.

Winter Fuel Payments: Glasgow

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) households and  (b) individuals in Glasgow East constituency have received winter fuel payments since 1 November 2009.

Angela Eagle: Information on winter fuel payments in Glasgow East since 1 November 2009 is not yet available. For winter 2008-09, the latest year for which information is available, 11,710 payments were made to households and 15,890 to individuals in that constituency.
	 Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. data.

Winter Fuel Payments: Morecambe

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency have received winter fuel payments during this winter.

Angela Eagle: Information on winter fuel payments in Morecambe and Lunesdale during this winter is not yet available. For winter 2008-09, the latest year for which information is available, 16,430 payments were made to households and 23,100 to individuals in that constituency.
	 Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent data.

Winter Fuel Payments: Perth

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) households and  (b) individuals in Perth and North Perthshire constituency have received winter fuel payments since 1 November 2009.

Angela Eagle: Information on winter fuel payments in Perth and North Perthshire since 1 November 2009 is not yet available. For winter 2008-09, the latest year for which information is available, 16,270 payments were made to households and 23,500 to individuals in that constituency.
	 Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent data.

Work Capability Assessment

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department has paid to Atos Healthcare in each of the last six months.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 3 March 2010
	The latest figures available for payment to Atos Healthcare over the period September 2009 to February 2010 is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   £ 
			  2009  
			 September 9,280,154 
			 October 8,599,235 
			 November 9,905,895 
			 December 17,437,105 
			   
			  2010  
			 January 752,941 
			 February 9,759,882 
		
	
	Invoices are raised in arrears for reports completed the previous month. The payment in December exceptionally includes (early) payment for some December outputs.
	These figures cover the total number of examinations undertaken and costs relating to written and verbal medical advice, fixed overheads, administrative costs, salaries and fees paid directly to Healthcare Professionals by Atos Healthcare, investment in new technology and other service improvements.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Restaurants: Closures

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many restaurants in  (a) England,  (b) Essex and  (c) Castle Point constituency were closed for failing to meet food safety and hygiene standards in each of the last five years; and for how long each was closed in each such case.

Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
	The figures in the following table show the number of restaurants and caterers subject to an emergency prohibition notice/order, or to a voluntary closure:
	
		
			   England  Essex( 1)  Castle Point( 2) 
			 2008-09 729 11 0 
			 2007-08(3) n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 615 9 1 
			 2005-06 450 5 0 
			 2004-05 470 7 0 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Data for Essex includes the district councils for Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Tendring and Uttlesford, and the unitary councils for Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. (2) Data for Castle Point is for Castle Point district council. (3) Full year data was not collected for 2007-08. 
		
	
	These figures are based on the monitoring returns for food law enforcement provided by individual local authorities to the Food Standards Agency.
	Data are not available for the length of time each restaurant or caterer was closed.

TREASURY

Bank Services

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what support his Department is providing to those who cannot open a bank current account because of their credit rating.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have negotiated voluntary agreements with all the major UK banks to offer a basic bank account. Basic bank accounts do not offer overdrafts so new customers do not have to pass a credit check to qualify for an account.

Capital Gains Tax

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the effect on capital gains tax receipts of the introduction of the 50 per cent. income tax rate;
	(2)  if he will estimate the annual additional sum to accrue to the Exchequer from charging capital gains tax at the same rates as income tax.

Stephen Timms: The effect on capital gains tax receipts of the introduction of the 50 per cent. income tax rate was included in the modelling explained to the Treasury Select Committee but no separate estimate has been made.
	The relevant transcript is available at pages 33 to 35 and 46 to 48 of:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmtreasy/438/438ii.pdf
	The estimate requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost, due to the difficulties of assessing the large behavioural responses that would result from changes of this kind.

Civil Servants: Location

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2010,  Official Report, on Civil Service: location, from what baseline year the figures for the relocation of civil service posts were calculated; and which Government departments and agencies have not met their targets for relocation.

Liam Byrne: The baseline for civil service staffing figures was 1 April 2003 and was used by Sir Michael Lyons in his 2004 report "Well Placed to Deliver?".
	The Departments for: Business, Innovation and Skills; Children, Schools and Families; Communities and Local Government; Culture, Media and Sport; Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for International Development; Department for Work and Pensions; Her Majesty's Treasury; the Home Office; Ministry of Defence; Ministry of Justice; and the Northern Ireland Office have either already exceeded or have met, or will meet their targets imminently.
	The Cabinet Office, Department for Transport, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (previously two departments, Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise) and UK National Statistics (previously the Office for National Statistics) continue to work towards meeting their target.

Departmental Location

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on the relocation of staff from posts in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There has been no spending on the relocation of staff from either Essex or the Castle Point constituency in any of the last five years.

Departmental Official Visits

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the destination was of each official visit by  (a) Ministers in his Department and  (b) officials in his Department, its agencies, HM Revenue and Customs and the Valuation Office Agency in each of the last three years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 8 March 2010
	 Ministers and officials of the Treasury, its agencies, HM Revenue and Customs and the Valuation Office Agency undertake official visits throughout the UK and wider. A central record of the destination of such visits is not kept centrally, and compiling the information could not be achieved within the disproportionate costs threshold.

Landfill Tax

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made of the revenue raised from landfill tax in 2009.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Estimates of landfill tax revenues are set out in Table B10 of the 2009 pre-Budget report.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a copy of the questionnaire which his Department is sending to chief executives of non-departmental public bodies asking for a breakdown of the functions and spending of the body concerned.

Liam Byrne: No questionnaire has been issued to the chief executives of NDPBs.

VAT: Veterinary Services

Annette Brooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on value added tax liability for  (a) veterinarians' bills and  (b) animal medication; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. It is not the Government's practice to provide details of such representations.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Exports: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many companies in  (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and  (b) the City of York exported goods or services to (i) other EU countries and (ii) non-EU countries in the last 12 months.

Ian Lucas: HM Revenue and Customs publishes a regional breakdown for trade in goods. UK Regional Trade Statistics were published on 11 March 2010. The provisional numbers of unique exporters of goods in Yorkshire and the Humber during the year 2009 for EU and non EU countries were 1,583 and 4,994 respectively.
	The UK Trade Statistics are provided at regional level so we are unable to confirm the number of companies for the City of York.

Literacy

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the functional literacy rate of school leavers were in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department does not currently report figures for functional literacy at age 16. We are piloting functional English qualifications at entry level, level 1 and level 2 to be available from 2010 which will provide young people and adults with the essential knowledge, skills and understanding that will enable them to operate confidently, effectively and independently in life and at work. The Government currently have a National Indicator to increase the percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including GCSEs in English and mathematics in maintained schools. Figures showing the percentage of pupils in maintained schools meeting this target in each year since 1997 is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 1997 32.5 
			 1998 34.0 
			 1999 39.4 
			 2000 37.3 
			 2001 38.1 
			 2002 39.5 
			 2003 39.5 
			 2004 40.4 
			 2005 42.5 
			 2006 44.0 
			 2007 45.8 
			 2008 48.2 
			 2009 50.7 
			  Note: Figures from 2005 relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. Figures prior to this relate to 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August). Figures relate to pupils in maintained schools. 
		
	
	Since 2005 the Department has also collected data on pupils achieving English and mathematics skills at Level 1. This shows the proportion of pupils achieving Level 1 English and mathematics, literacy and numeracy-even though some may not have achieved the equivalent GCSEs:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 2005 91.1 
			 2006 91.6 
			 2007 93.9 
			 2008 93.6 
			 2009 94.5 
			  Note: Figures from 2005 relate to pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. Figures prior to this relate to 15-year-olds (age at start of academic year, i.e. 31 August). Figures relate to pupils in maintained schools.

Venture Capital: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the Barnett consequentials for Wales of the  (a) UK High Technology Fund,  (b) Regional Venture Capital Funds,  (c) Community Development Venture (Bridges) Funds,  (d) Early Growth Funds,  (e) Enterprise Capital Funds,  (f) Aspire Fund and  (g) Capital for Enterprise Fund were in each year for which figures are available.

Kevin Brennan: The UK High Technology Fund, Enterprise Capital Funds, Aspire Fund and Capital for Enterprise Funds are UK funds. The Regional Venture Capital Funds, Early Growth Funds and Community Development Venture (Bridges) Funds were funds available to the English regions only. They were established during 2000-01 and are no longer open to make new investments. The details of the Barnett Consequentials agreed at that time have been archived and are not immediately available. My right Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Regional Economic Development and Co-ordination will write to the hon. Member in the near future. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Biofuels

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the use of imported biomass from areas at risk of  (a) degradation of natural or semi-natural ecosystems or habitats,  (b) indirect land use change and  (c) net biodiversity loss.

David Kidney: holding answer 10 March 2010
	The Government are determined to ensure that biomass, whether imported or produced in the UK: delivers real and substantive carbon dioxide savings; uses land responsibly avoiding damaging land use change; and does not undermine global food supplies or inflate prices.
	We already require suppliers of transport biofuels, and electricity generators over 50 kilowatts, to report on the available information on the origins of the biomass they use and whether the biomass complied with an environmental standards scheme.
	We will implement the sustainability criteria set out in the Renewable Energy Directive for transport biofuels and bioliquids for heat and electricity generation. We are currently considering the European Commission's recommendations on sustainability requirements for the use of solid and gaseous biomass sources for heat and electricity. DECC will make an announcement later this month, setting out what actions the Government can now take to introduce sustainability standards for biomass in the UK.
	The European Commission is due to report by 31 December 2010 on the impact of indirect land-use change on greenhouse gas emissions and ways to minimise that impact. We are pushing for an early resolution on this within the EU and we will continue to work hard for global sustainability standards.

Boilers: Government Assistance

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what discussions officials from his Department have had with their HM Treasury counterparts on extending the boiler scrappage scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Officials in DECC have had a wide range of discussions with officials in HM Treasury on a number of issues in the context of expenditure plans. HM Government will consider all proposals for expenditure as part of the budgetary cycle.

Departmental Advertising

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on television advertising in relation to each initiative in each month of 2009.

Joan Ruddock: The cost of ACT ON CO2 television advertising for each month in 2009 is outlined in the following table. Costs are media only, include fees and are exclusive of VAT.
	
		
			   £ 
			  2009  
			 January 590,080 
			 February 564,500 
			 March 613,920 
			 April 10,000 
			 May to September 0 
			 October 1,600,000 
			 November 554,758 
			 December 0

Departmental Location

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on the relocation of staff from posts in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years.

Joan Ruddock: The Department was formed on 3 October 2008. The Department has not spent any money on the relocation of staff from posts in Essex or Castle Point.

Food: Prices

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on UK food prices of his Department's biomass strategy.

David Kidney: holding answer 10 March 2010
	The Government are determined to ensure that biomass, whether imported or produced in the UK: delivers real and substantive carbon dioxide savings; uses land responsibly avoiding damaging land use change; and does not undermine global food supplies or inflate prices.
	A study carried out by E4Tech to inform the UK's 2009 Renewable Energy Strategy, examined the availability of biomass supplies. The results indicate that there could be sufficient biomass resource potential in the UK for bio-energy to play a significant role in meeting the renewable energy target in 2020, and that imported biomass feedstocks could increasingly become a traded commodity. The study assumed that food demands are met first, and only considered the potential for UK energy crops from land currently not used for arable crops. The study also considered unexploited UK biomass reserves such as energy from waste and bringing back into production forest and woodland that has fallen out of good management practice. These sources of biomass do not compete with food crops and so do not impact on food prices.
	Biomass used for the production of transport biofuels currently accounts for approximately 1 per cent. of global land use. The Government undertook an assessment of the causes and implications of the agricultural food price spike in 2007-08 (published on 5 January and available on DEFRA's website as part of the Food 2030 package). The report concluded that biofuels had not been a significant cause of recent food price spikes worldwide. For the longer term, we are supporting the development of "second generation" technology which could produce biofuels from non food sources such as algae, wood, straw and food waste, so reducing pressure on food crops and land.
	We will continue to monitor the impact of our bio-energy targets on food prices.

Fuel Poverty: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what percentage of households in Birmingham were in fuel poverty in each year since 1997.

David Kidney: The methodology used for the 2006 work differs from that previously used, so care should be taken in comparing the fuel poverty levels in one area between 2003 and 2006.

Natural Gas: Imports

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans the Government have for investment in gas import projects over the next 10 years.

David Kidney: Investment is a commercial activity. Details of future commercial investment in gas import projects can be found in National Grid's latest Ten Year Statement (published in December 2009).

Natural Gas: Imports

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the  (a) gas import capacity of and  (b) demand for gas in the UK (i) in 2010 and (ii) in each of the next five years.

David Kidney: The latest estimates of gas import capacity and demand for gas in the UK for 2010 and each of the next five years can be found in the latest edition of the Energy Markets Outlook (published in December 2009). This can be found on the DECC website at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/uk_supply/markets/outlook/outlook.aspx

Natural Gas: Storage

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the lowest level of gas storage has been in each week since 1 December 2009.

David Kidney: holding answer 9 March 2010
	The Government do not publish this information. However, daily gas storage levels from 1 October 2009 can be found on the National Grid website:
	http://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/Gas/Data/storage/

JUSTICE

Care Proceedings

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he expects to publish  (a) the report of Mr. Francis Plowden on court fees for the issue of care proceedings of local authorities and  (b) his comments on the report.

Jack Straw: We are currently finalising arrangements for the publication of the independent review of court fees in care and supervision proceedings undertaken by Francis Plowden. The Review, together with a statement from the Government, will be published on Monday.

Crimes of Violence: Convictions

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions and  (c) convictions of (i) men and (ii) women in each police force area for the offence of attempted murder there were in each year since 1997.

Claire Ward: The number of males and females proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for attempted murder, England and Wales, by police force area, from 1997 to 2008 (latest available) is given in Tables 1 and 2.
	Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.
	The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally. The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery. From these centrally reported categories it is not possible to separately identify arrests for attempted murder.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of males proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts of attempted murder, by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2008( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			   Proceeded against 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 3) 
			 Avon and Somerset 13 2 9 9 12 3 16 6 4 6 11 2 
			 Bedfordshire 4 3 2 2 10 2 3 7 2 3 2 3 
			 Cambridgeshire 6 6 7 6 9 5 4 4 3 6 - 1 
			 Cheshire 4 5 6 5 5 6 15 - 3 10 5 3 
			 City of London - - - 1 - - - - 1 - 2 - 
			 Cleveland 7 5 8 - 9 4 16 5 4 7 7 6 
			 Cumbria 6 12 2 4 3 2 2 2 - - 1 - 
			 Derbyshire 5 4 3 6 4 1 2 2 - 4 6 4 
			 Devon and Cornwall 9 10 7 15 15 3 8 3 4 3 2 2 
			 Dorset 4 4 3 3 9 5 5 7 8 1 - 2 
			 Durham 6 4 8 1 5 2 1 3 10 1 2 1 
			 Essex 5 7 7 6 11 16 15 12 6 8 4 7 
			 Gloucestershire 3 3 4 3 5 4 3 - 2 3 - 1 
			 Greater Manchester 33 42 40 41 60 56 49 39 15 35 38 20 
			 Hampshire 10 15 24 11 19 11 22 11 11 3 6 3 
			 Hertfordshire 6 4 8 3 3 2 7 5 14 3 4 6 
			 Humberside 1 2 - 5 2 1 9 4 7 5 2 3 
			 Kent 11 5 4 7 7 2 2 7 10 3 4 6 
			 Lancashire 17 15 16 19 16 7 22 14 7 16 14 21 
			 Leicestershire 6 9 14 6 18 17 16 14 12 5 3 1 
			 Lincolnshire 3 1 3 3 7 3 2 3 1 3 1 5 
			 Merseyside 18 22 15 21 17 24 17 16 7 14 10 6 
			 Metropolitan Police 67 69 66 56 76 69 66 55 61 95 82 71 
			 Norfolk 6 4 3 - 6 - - - - - - 2 
			 North Yorkshire 1 4 3 3 5 8 3 2 4 4 3 5 
			 Northamptonshire 7 9 1 1 - - - 2 2 1 - 3 
			 Northumbria 12 4 6 8 9 6 7 7 3 1 2 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 5 1 3 3 6 2 5 8 7 1 4 2 
			 South Yorkshire 6 9 11 10 17 11 18 19 12 6 6 10 
			 Staffordshire 3 1 5 - 4 5 5 7 5 1 4 4 
			 Suffolk 4 5 4 2 5 4 1 4 5 - 3 3 
			 Surrey 3 2 2 2 8 5 - 3 5 4 5 2 
			 Sussex 5 5 2 7 20 7 7 7 2 4 6 2 
			 Thames Valley 12 7 15 13 14 25 15 15 11 13 14 13 
			 Warwickshire 5 3 4 - - 3 - 5 3 2 - 2 
			 West Mercia 9 2 3 9 14 11 1 1 3 4 2 4 
			 West Midlands 35 44 25 52 52 42 55 35 23 36 19 30 
			 West Yorkshire 15 11 10 12 32 31 25 17 23 11 19 13 
			 Wiltshire 1 3 2 5 4 6 6 9 5 3 2 1 
			 Dyfed-Powys - 1 2 2 1 2 5 4 1 1 4 - 
			 Gwent 11 6 11 2 11 16 7 12 13 5 2 1 
			 North Wales 7 3 5 1 3 1 2 6 3 6 1 5 
			 South Wales(3) 11 18 11 7 5 4 5 6 5 10 6 4 
			 Total 402 391 384 372 538 434 469 388 327 347 308 282 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			  Police force area  1997  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 3) 
			 Avon and Somerset 2 - 2 3 1 1 3 2 - 2 2 1 1 
			 Bedfordshire - - - - - - - 1 - - 1 1 1 
			 Cambridgeshire 2 2 1 - - - - 1 - 2 - 1 1 
			 Cheshire 1 2 1 - - 3 - 1 - 2 2 1 1 
			 City of London - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Cleveland - - - 1 - - 1 - 3 1 - 1 1 
			 Cumbria 2 - 1 - 1 1 - - - - -  - 
			 Derbyshire - 1 1 1 2 - - 1 1 - 2 1 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 3 1 - 3 1 1 3 1 - 2 2 2 2 
			 Dorset 1 1 1 2 1 - 2 1 1 - - - - 
			 Durham 1 1 - - - 1 - - - - - 1 1 
			 Essex - - 1 - 1 - 3 1 - 1 1 - - 
			 Gloucestershire - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Greater Manchester 4 2 5 9 2 7 10 7 3 7 8 5 5 
			 Hampshire 4 2 3 1 2 3 1 3 3 6 1 4 4 
			 Hertfordshire - 1 1 - - 1 2 - - 1 - - - 
			 Humberside - - 1 - 2 - 1 1 - 2 1 2 2 
			 Kent 3 4 - - 1 - 2 3 1 - 1 - - 
			 Lancashire 2 2 3 2 2 2 - 3 3 1 1 5 5 
			 Leicestershire 1 1 2 - 1 2 2 4 2 - - 1 1 
			 Lincolnshire 1 - 2 4 - 2 - 2 - - 1 - - 
			 Merseyside - 5 2 1 - 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 
			 Metropolitan Police 12 12 9 8 7 10 17 12 16 18 21 29 29 
			 Norfolk - - - - 1 2 - - 1 2 - - - 
			 North Yorkshire - 1 2 - - - 1 - - - - - - 
			 Northamptonshire 2 2 2 2 - - - 1 - - - - - 
			 Northumbria 2 2 2 5 1 - 5 - 1 - 2 1 1 
			 Nottinghamshire 5 1 2 5 1 2 - 6 1 2 1 2 2 
			 South Yorkshire 1 2 - - 2 3 2 4 2 2 1 3 3 
			 Staffordshire - 1 - - - 1 1 1 - 2 1 - - 
			 Suffolk - - 1 - - 1 - - - 1 - 1 1 
			 Surrey - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Sussex 2 2 2 1 1 2 3 4 - - 4 3 3 
			 Thames Valley 2 1 2 1 1 3 6 4 2 6 6 2 2 
			 Warwickshire 2 - - - - - - 1 2 - - - - 
			 West Mercia 4 2 - - 2 1 - - 2 - 1 1 1 
			 West Midlands 4 2 7 5 2 4 10 11 8 6 7 5 5 
			 West Yorkshire 5 2 5 2 3 1 7 6 7 4 8 7 7 
			 Wiltshire - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Dyfed-Powys - - 2 - 4 1 1 1 - 1 1 - - 
			 Gwent - 1 1 - - 2 - - 3 1 1 - - 
			 North Wales 1 - 1 1 - - - 1 1 1 3 2 2 
			 South Wales(3) - 2 2 - 1 2 4 2 1 - 1 1 1 
			 Total 69 58 67 58 43 61 90 88 65 75 83 85 85 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offences selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes those proceeded against at Cardiff magistrates court in April, July and August 2008. (4) The found guilty column may exceed those proceeded against, as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in the preceding year and they were found guilty at the Crown court in the following year, or the defendants were found guilty for a different offence to the original offence proceeded against.  Source:  Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 :  N umber of females proceeded against at magistrates  courts and found guilty at all courts of attempted murder, by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2008( 1, 2, 3, 4) 
			   Proceeded against 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 3) 
			 Avon and Somerset - 1 - 2 - - 1 3 2 - 1 - 
			 Bedfordshire - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Cambridgeshire 1 2 - 1 1 - - - 2 - 1 2 
			 Cheshire 1 - - 1 - - 2 - 1 - 1 - 
			 Cleveland 3 2 1 2 2 - 3 - 1 - 3 2 
			 Cumbria - 1 - - 1 1 2 1 - - - - 
			 Derbyshire - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 1 1 - - 1 1 1 1 1 1 - 
			 Dorset - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 - - - - 
			 Durham - 1 - - - - 1 1 - - - - 
			 Essex - 1 1 2 1 1 - - 2 - - 1 
			 Gloucestershire - - 1 - - - 1 1 2 - 1 - 
			 Greater Manchester 1 7 5 3 9 1 4 4 3 1 1 3 
			 Hampshire - 1 1 2 2 5 1 - 1 - - - 
			 Hertfordshire - 1 1 1 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 
			 Humberside - - - - - - 1 - 1 1 1 - 
			 Kent 1 1 - 1 2 - - - 1 - 1 1 
			 Lancashire 2 - 1 1 2 5 1 - - - 1 1 
			 Leicestershire - 1 3 - 1 - 1 1 - - - - 
			 Lincolnshire 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - - - - - 
			 Merseyside 2 3 1 1 2 3 1 2 - - 1 - 
			 Metropolitan Police 4 4 5 1 4 1 2 2 - 1 4 6 
			 Norfolk - - - 1 - - - 1 - - - - 
			 North Yorkshire - - - - - 2 - - - - - - 
			 Northamptonshire - - - - - - - - 1 - - 1 
			 Northumbria 3 1 2 1 1 - 2 1 - - - - 
			 Nottinghamshire 1 - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 South Yorkshire - 3 2 - - 3 1 - 1 - 4 - 
			 Staffordshire 2 - - - - - 1 - - 1 - - 
			 Suffolk - - 1 - - - - - 1 - - - 
			 Surrey 1 - - 1 2 2 - 1 - - - 1 
			 Sussex 1 - 2 1 3 - 1 - - - 1 3 
			 Thames Valley 2 1 1 - - - 1 - 1 2 - 1 
			 Warwickshire 1 - - - - - - - - 1 - - 
			 West Mercia - - 1 1 1 - 2 1 - 1 1 1 
			 West Midlands 3 1 1 3 5 4 5 3 2 - - 6 
			 West Yorkshire 2 1 - 1 2 - 1 2 - - 1 3 
			 Wiltshire - 1 - 1 1 1 - 1 1 - - - 
			 Dyfed-Powys - 1 1 - - - - - - - - - 
			 Gwent - - 1 - 2 - 4 1 2 - - - 
			 North Wales - - - - 1 - - 1 - - - - 
			 South Wales(3) - 1 - 1 - - - - - 1 - - 
			 Total 34 40 34 31 47 31 43 29 27 10 25 33 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 3) 
			 Avon and Somerset - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Bedfordshire - - - - 1 - - - - - - - 
			 Cambridgeshire - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Cheshire - - 1 - - - - 1 - 1 - - 
			 Cleveland - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 
			 Cumbria - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Derbyshire - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall - 1 1 - - - - - - 1 - - 
			 Dorset - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Durham - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Essex - - - - - - 1 - - - - - 
			 Gloucestershire - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Greater Manchester - - - 1 - - - - 1 1 - - 
			 Hampshire 1 - - - - - 1 - - - 1 - 
			 Hertfordshire - 1 - - 1 1 - 1 - - - - 
			 Humberside - - - - - - - - - 1 1 - 
			 Kent - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Lancashire - - - - - - - - - - 1 - 
			 Leicestershire - - - 2 - - - 1 - - - - 
			 Lincolnshire - - - 1 - - - 1 - - - - 
			 Merseyside - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Metropolitan Police - - - 1 1 1 1 1 - - - 2 
			 Norfolk - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 North Yorkshire - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Northamptonshire - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Northumbria - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Nottinghamshire - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 
			 South Yorkshire - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Staffordshire - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Suffolk - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Surrey - - - - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Sussex - - - 1 - 2 - 1 - - - - 
			 Thames Valley - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Warwickshire - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 West Mercia - 1 - - - - 1 - - - 1 - 
			 West Midlands - - - - - - - 1 - - - - 
			 West Yorkshire - 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 
			 Wiltshire - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Dyfed-Powys - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Gwent - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 North Wales - - - - - - - - - - - - 
			 South Wales(3) - - - - - - - 1 - - - - 
			 Total 1 6 3 7 3 4 4 8 1 4 4 8 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offences selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used (3) Excludes those proceeded against at Cardiff magistrates court in April, July and August 2008 (4) The found guilty column may exceed those proceeded against, as it may be the case that the proceedings in the magistrates court took place in the preceding year and they were found guilty at the Crown Court in the following year, or the defendants were found guilty for a different offence to the original offence proceeded against  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Departmental Buildings

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on office refurbishments in each year since its inception.

Jack Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 17-18W, to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude).
	The tables in my previous answer which covered Ministry of Justice HQ, NOMS (custodial and non-custodial, HMCS Estates, Tribunals Service and the Legal Services Commission) provide costs for the full calendar year 2007; and costs up to November 2008. The Ministry of Justice was created in May 2007 and we are unable to separate costs for that year.
	Costs incurred since then, including the balance of 2008, are shown as follows. The costs stated are for refurbishment works to the fabric and structure of buildings and do not include items such as furniture and are exclusive of VAT.
	Balance of 2008: £862,392
	2009: £150,223
	These figures above cover Ministry of Justice HQ and the Tribunals Service buildings. Figures are not held centrally for buildings in the NOMS and HMCS estates and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, they have not been refurbishing offices, rather reducing and making better use of the buildings that they have.
	2010 costs are not yet available.

Departmental Location

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on the relocation of staff from posts in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point constituency in each of the last five years.

Michael Wills: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Local HR teams are not necessarily informed of physical relocations within a given business area.
	The Ministry of Justice's accounting systems record relocation costs at an organisational level and not according to the geographical location of staff.
	It would incur disproportionate cost to identify spend on the relocation of staff from posts in Essex and Castle Point. To identify the information required would involve investigations by all of the local offices and agencies of the Ministry of Justice operating within Essex and the Castle Point constituency, including prisons, probation services, magistrates, Crown and county courts and tribunal services.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice from which companies his Department sourced temporary staff in each of the last three years; how many temporary staff his Department employed in each year; and what the monetary value of the contracts with each such company was in each such year.

Jack Straw: According to the definition provided by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), temporary staff include all interim managers, specialist contractors, administrative, manual and clerical staff. Personnel who are engaged to provide advisory services are excluded as the OGC classifies them as "consultancy". It is often the case that the same suppliers provide temporary staff and consultants.
	On its formation on 9 May 2007 as a merger between the former Department for Constitutional Affairs and parts of the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice inherited a range of local procurement arrangements which were brought together within a single departmental wide function from April 2009. It is not possible therefore to identify expenditure on temporary staff classified according to OGC definitions from procurement data prior to the current financial year. To provide this information would incur the disproportionate cost of scrutinising thousands of invoices from relevant suppliers to determine what costs relate to consultancy and what costs relate to temporary staff.
	The new departmental wide arrangements are based on the best practice processes that were already in operation on the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) agency. NOMS is therefore able to identify £27.25 million expenditure in 2008-09 with its contracted Administrative and Clerical Agency Staff providers at that time (Brook Street; Hays; Reed; Employment Plus; Kelly Services; NRG and Office Angels).
	In most cases, the Ministry now utilises the OGC Buying Solutions framework arrangements for the provision of temporary staff. The suppliers under this framework can be found at the following link under the categories of (1) Temporary Clerical and Admin (2) Specialist Contractors (3) Interim Management:
	http://www.buyingsolutions.gov.uk/frameworks/full.html
	Using a slightly different definition for headcount monitoring purposes, the departmental annual resource accounts identify agency and contract staff costs and numbers within notes (9a) and (9c) in the column headed "others". However, these figures include some staff on temporary contracts who are employed directly by the Ministry of Justice, hence the pension and social security costs disclosed within the total expenditure. The figures also include the Scotland Office and Wales Office. It would incur disproportionate costs to identify the specific costs and numbers associated with staff employed through agencies rather than directly employed. The accounts can be found at the following links for 2008-09 and 2007-08 respectively:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/resource-accounts-2008-09.htm
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/1055.htm
	As part of its Performance Efficiency Programme, the Ministry of Justice has controls in place to restrict and reduce the number of agency and contract staff employed. In some circumstances, however, the employment of temporary personnel is unavoidable, for example to secure specialist skills for specific time-limited projects or to cover for absences such as maternity leave.

Driving under Influence: Convictions

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions and  (c) convictions of (i) men and (ii) women in each police force area for the offence of drink driving there have been since 1997.

Claire Ward: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for "driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs", by sex and police force area, from 1997 to 2008 (latest available) is shown in tables 1 and 2.
	Court proceedings data for 2009 are planned to be published in the autumn, 2010.
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery.
	Information on summary motoring offences including those of driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs are non-notifiable and as a result are not covered by the collection.
	
		
			  Table 1 :  N umber of males  proceeded against at magistrates  courts and found guilty at all courts for driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2008( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) 
			   Proceeded against 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,387 2,233 2,347 2,113 1,888 2,007 2,261 2,249 2,167 1,981 2,017 1,772 
			 Bedfordshire 1,066 930 757 681 826 838 929 953 950 972 883 747 
			 Cambridgeshire 924 898 798 664 666 713 797 914 996 1,050 1,043 917 
			 Cheshire 1,618 1,594 1,486 1,405 1,317 1,735 1,528 1,751 1,372 1,456 1,449 1,245 
			 City of London 379 275 211 167 139 208 197 157 165 149 181 115 
			 Cleveland 817 706 704 667 753 766 795 882 761 806 783 808 
			 Cumbria 756 709 700 660 612 633 661 733 659 686 680 565 
			 Derbyshire 1,396 1,278 1,242 1,186 1,192 1,234 1,332 1,554 1,345 1,264 1,191 969 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,069 1,986 1,992 1,907 2,095 2,129 2,283 2,130 2,080 1,960 1,908 1,794 
			 Dorset 996 989 935 897 934 937 1,013 1,035 986 957 1,010 874 
			 Durham 894 863 957 970 918 932 966 1,007 910 790 796 694 
			 Essex 2,437 2,186 2,190 2,150 2,108 2,150 2,202 2,362 2,131 2,229 2,084 1,918 
			 Gloucestershire 919 833 740 672 746 812 754 759 711 710 601 613 
			 Greater Manchester 4,016 3,886 3,893 3,814 3,864 3,793 3,817 3,846 3,786 3,749 3,650 3,011 
			 Hampshire 3,200 3,084 3,264 2,948 3,005 3,331 3,132 3,215 2,825 2,426 2,462 2,245 
			 Hertfordshire 1,464 1,473 1,459 1,320 1,451 1,640 1,641 1,629 1,554 1,511 1,503 1,307 
			 Humberside 1,080 1,171 1,103 1,110 1,049 1,218 1,330 1,367 1,315 1,247 842 477 
			 Kent 2,056 2,327 2,313 2,272 2,309 2,400 2,410 2,589 2,419 2,332 2,329 2,025 
			 Lancashire 2,825 2,380 2,177 2,171 1,927 2,161 2,269 2,251 2,234 2,274 2,191 1,965 
			 Leicestershire 1,438 1,297 1,389 1,304 1,359 1,422 1,443 1,445 1,382 1,275 1,290 1,099 
			 Lincolnshire 980 882 805 735 791 746 972 998 991 1,051 1,051 997 
			 Merseyside 2,290 2,042 1,804 1,891 1,918 1,951 2,268 2,394 2,434 2,219 1,998 1,529 
			 Metropolitan police 14,886 12,798 11,332 10,936 10,651 11,970 11,549 11,758 11,650 11,579 10,738 9,717 
			 Norfolk 952 954 837 776 976 1,017 1,106 1,026 1,040 1,137 1,008 861 
			 North Yorkshire 1,106 1,039 930 908 896 938 1,002 938 1,033 998 946 886 
			 Northamptonshire 1,000 945 927 708 356 195 698 794 737 868 748 790 
			 Northumbria 2,263 2,047 2,018 2,196 2,097 2,107 2,245 2,192 2,127 2,064 1,984 1,835 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,705 1,511 1,523 1,452 1,332 1,220 1,379 1,358 1,369 1,403 1,256 1,255 
			 South Yorkshire 1,993 1,646 1,620 1,815 1,748 1,625 1,748 1,864 1,906 1,667 1,690 1,609 
			 Staffordshire 1,752 1,637 1,428 1,554 1,222 1,374 1,399 1,419 1,411 1,354 1,369 1,251 
			 Suffolk 898 882 907 762 823 940 1,010 1,125 914 979 866 711 
			 Surrey 1,205 1,137 1,203 1,328 1,528 1,422 1,236 1,270 1,231 1,170 1,204 1,074 
			 Sussex 2,076 1,891 1,903 1,845 2,128 2,050 2,125 2,064 1,933 2,023 1,985 1,794 
			 Thames Valley 3,638 3,458 3,302 3,056 2,904 3,786 3,419 3,094 2,987 2,941 2,852 2,406 
			 Warwickshire 686 671 730 682 758 724 782 742 734 725 808 650 
			 West Mercia 1,727 1,571 1,475 1,395 1,477 1,463 1,527 1,532 1,672 1,682 1,591 1,424 
			 West Midlands 5,622 4,949 4,229 3,953 4,225 4,383 4,481 4,759 4,830 4,739 4,651 3,877 
			 West Yorkshire 3,352 3,161 3,176 2,879 2,858 3,161 3,191 3,328 3,366 3,134 2,936 2,609 
			 Wiltshire 892 947 832 775 848 828 816 845 840 809 639 546 
			 Dyfed-Powys 857 822 788 731 724 792 811 807 777 762 748 646 
			 Gwent 976 1,016 933 1,016 946 898 973 980 901 986 894 787 
			 North Wales 1,122 1,079 1,012 1,088 1,049 1,066 1,117 1,108 1,097 1,112 1,049 890 
			 South Wales(3) 2,282 2,340 2,088 2,171 2,283 2,159 2,269 2,323 2,303 2,227 2,062 1,494 
			 Total England and Wales 86,997 80,523 76,459 73,730 73,696 77,874 79,883 81,546 79,031 77,453 73,966 64,798 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 2,212 2,077 2,210 1,981 1,780 1,894 2,089 2,126 2,042 1,857 1,903 1,678 
			 Bedfordshire 959 877 709 640 771 780 863 891 882 929 841 708 
			 Cambridgeshire 887 860 756 627 645 680 758 880 972 1,022 1,012 883 
			 Cheshire 1,546 1,513 1,406 1,304 1,239 1,551 1,443 1,664 1,313 1,390 1,393 1,209 
			 City of London 366 252 202 145 129 182 187 133 154 143 165 105 
			 Cleveland 759 652 636 612 707 721 702 813 725 776 754 790 
			 Cumbria 720 670 678 625 584 602 634 709 627 656 663 545 
			 Derbyshire 1,280 1,212 1,173 1,105 1,105 1,161 1,264 1,472 1,290 1,210 1,151 940 
			 Devon and Cornwall 1,931 1,870 1,876 1,801 1,987 2,020 2,145 2,036 1,987 1,851 1,830 1,720 
			 Dorset 938 930 889 843 881 877 960 975 943 915 925 819 
			 Durham 840 810 907 924 874 879 901 972 880 760 775 673 
			 Essex 2,320 2,025 2,078 2,048 1,986 2,031 2,105 2,266 2,027 2,130 2,003 1,844 
			 Gloucestershire 878 787 703 626 715 766 711 716 651 655 564 596 
			 Greater Manchester 3,819 3,685 3,728 3,648 3,638 3,622 3,616 3,686 3,600 3,595 3,511 2,923 
			 Hampshire 3,040 2,920 3,078 2,788 2,840 3,134 2,934 3,007 2,659 2,299 2,373 2,145 
			 Hertfordshire 1,386 1,371 1,378 1,238 1,356 1,538 1,516 1,498 1,448 1,431 1,427 1,247 
			 Humberside 1,024 1,102 1,072 1,055 998 1,132 1,242 1,289 1,265 1,208 801 436 
			 Kent 1,947 2,217 2,205 2,169 2,147 2,245 2,250 2,455 2,314 2,238 2,236 1,938 
			 Lancashire 2,701 2,266 2,057 2,034 1,790 1,995 2,090 2,097 2,107 2,108 2,057 1,876 
			 Leicestershire 1,366 1,224 1,301 1,245 1,257 1,346 1,386 1,386 1,300 1,210 1,218 1,038 
			 Lincolnshire 924 825 770 690 726 706 907 961 930 1,008 1,008 951 
			 Merseyside 2,129 1,901 1,703 1,712 1,776 1,833 2,107 2,174 2,266 2,097 1,896 1,478 
			 Metropolitan police 13,515 11,503 10,215 9,808 9,427 10,752 10,333 10,674 10,601 10,766 10,052 9,218 
			 Norfolk 940 937 823 746 911 966 1,036 965 996 1,094 962 827 
			 North Yorkshire 1,062 977 885 862 859 901 938 887 977 963 914 863 
			 Northamptonshire 928 867 850 639 315 181 644 749 655 823 711 755 
			 Northumbria 2,069 1,881 1,869 2,038 1,935 1,946 2,060 2,030 1,986 1,942 1,861 1,756 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,598 1,402 1,404 1,349 1,245 1,128 1,285 1,292 1,284 1,322 1,201 1,203 
			 South Yorkshire 1,868 1,554 1,544 1,700 1,643 1,528 1,613 1,757 1,795 1,582 1,625 1,526 
			 Staffordshire 1,655 1,554 1,360 1,504 1,158 1,293 1,325 1,323 1,306 1,255 1,310 1,208 
			 Suffolk 846 842 861 718 764 889 938 1,041 875 934 825 687 
			 Surrey 1,121 1,071 1,140 1,223 1,271 1,292 1,156 1,190 1,161 1,110 1,142 1,029 
			 Sussex 1,923 1,756 1,785 1,708 1,950 1,918 1,990 1,967 1,861 1,943 1,928 1,734 
			 Thames Valley 3,402 3,241 3,081 2,844 2,680 3,543 3,192 2,897 2,809 2,745 2,679 2,317 
			 Warwickshire 647 631 698 644 722 686 755 713 705 695 781 625 
			 West Mercia 1,643 1,487 1,420 1,338 1,407 1,387 1,432 1,436 1,601 1,616 1,529 1,379 
			 West Midlands 5,220 4,564 3,893 3,652 3,928 4,071 4,192 4,467 4,580 4,487 4,458 3,715 
			 West Yorkshire 3,154 2,939 2,950 2,672 2,583 2,883 2,976 3,146 3,161 2,950 2,742 2,448 
			 Wiltshire 845 907 810 748 809 778 781 794 798 775 616 519 
			 Dyfed-Powys 803 774 749 675 677 725 757 750 724 716 700 617 
			 Gwent 926 954 857 951 891 851 883 917 829 919 846 738 
			 North Wales 1,043 1,018 963 1,037 965 986 1,034 1,044 1,049 1,067 1,024 858 
			 South Wales(3) 2,166 2,179 1,965 2,046 2,114 2,045 2,112 2,183 2,147 2,105 1,979 1,448 
			 Total England and Wales 81,346 75,084 71,637 68,762 68,185 72,444 74,242 76,428 74,282 73,297 70,391 62,012 
			 (1 )The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 : N umber of females p roceeded against at magistrates  courts and found guilty at all courts for driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2008( 1)( , )( 2)( , )( 3) 
			   Proceeded against 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 253 234 257 267 235 276 309 350 356 330 360 301 
			 Bedfordshire 84 95 73 76 83 102 121 100 92 133 125 96 
			 Cambridgeshire 90 102 96 74 69 87 103 117 118 134 142 139 
			 Cheshire 200 200 201 195 170 272 270 278 233 285 282 287 
			 City of London 44 30 28 14 18 28 20 15 12 16 13 13 
			 Cleveland 81 77 75 73 74 93 105 106 116 134 116 135 
			 Cumbria 84 73 95 88 83 89 106 92 130 116 111 137 
			 Derbyshire 148 120 116 143 121 148 173 197 188 204 169 184 
			 Devon and Cornwall 236 232 233 268 252 269 357 325 326 363 326 340 
			 Dorset 110 128 118 141 133 165 148 156 158 164 201 174 
			 Durham 64 110 119 104 112 135 118 134 163 144 162 141 
			 Essex 240 221 251 222 254 274 276 349 340 352 363 385 
			 Gloucestershire 92 113 94 89 99 98 120 131 120 124 128 141 
			 Greater Manchester 358 411 413 421 448 462 512 506 541 501 552 568 
			 Hampshire 377 361 375 387 363 442 413 443 462 393 411 396 
			 Hertfordshire 140 153 136 181 191 233 249 244 256 277 284 264 
			 Humberside 99 105 95 146 129 127 120 139 139 166 120 62 
			 Kent 155 219 229 232 261 310 268 305 317 312 349 362 
			 Lancashire 316 340 303 297 284 340 321 351 344 414 411 398 
			 Leicestershire 115 105 117 125 126 152 162 167 169 158 176 137 
			 Lincolnshire 100 92 93 69 86 75 115 154 150 133 137 138 
			 Merseyside 228 239 178 190 189 240 296 328 327 343 387 349 
			 Metropolitan police 1,392 1,240 1,187 1,091 1,057 1,210 1,179 1,328 1,253 1,343 1,340 1,338 
			 Norfolk 89 99 95 93 116 153 122 149 153 149 165 164 
			 North Yorkshire 147 111 126 126 130 128 155 141 171 163 182 166 
			 Northamptonshire 82 99 105 76 32 24 85 99 120 104 101 130 
			 Northumbria 194 234 231 242 228 290 323 344 300 337 373 355 
			 Nottinghamshire 162 145 158 166 159 113 164 183 180 217 214 211 
			 South Yorkshire 146 178 153 176 171 193 232 216 208 215 229 238 
			 Staffordshire 177 191 149 149 146 201 196 222 220 208 221 253 
			 Suffolk 102 109 129 97 101 117 152 154 128 138 146 146 
			 Surrey 128 155 173 190 243 215 193 194 227 211 256 247 
			 Sussex 271 215 252 226 267 255 275 341 311 337 372 303 
			 Thames Valley 357 368 353 405 352 473 450 414 425 438 447 432 
			 Warwickshire 79 80 90 72 101 89 95 81 103 138 137 134 
			 West Mercia 111 118 146 144 172 206 192 191 146 215 188 182 
			 West Midlands 371 348 312 397 374 389 419 517 524 564 557 490 
			 West Yorkshire 277 304 296 307 280 313 329 330 354 333 411 401 
			 Wiltshire 106 86 105 108 110 116 133 117 125 129 129 116 
			 Dyfed-Powys 95 107 103 82 99 113 123 133 121 117 124 122 
			 Gwent 111 113 99 113 135 104 131 149 180 161 153 177 
			 North Wales 128 137 147 139 127 150 157 153 166 168 176 171 
			 South Wales(3) 217 255 239 266 285 310 332 333 359 349 372 307 
			 Total England and Wales 8,356 8,452 8,343 8,467 8,465 9,579 10,119 10,776 10,831 11,230 11,618 11,230 
		
	
	
		
			   Found guilty 
			  Police force area  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 241 219 237 249 220 259 285 331 337 313 339 287 
			 Bedfordshire 80 87 68 73 74 100 114 95 87 131 122 96 
			 Cambridgeshire 84 96 92 72 68 82 96 114 116 128 138 138 
			 Cheshire 192 192 194 184 157 248 257 269 229 265 269 277 
			 City of London 44 29 23 11 18 27 20 15 11 15 12 13 
			 Cleveland 77 74 73 67 70 87 98 102 113 131 111 128 
			 Cumbria 82 70 93 85 81 84 103 90 122 112 109 136 
			 Derbyshire 132 113 108 135 111 139 157 188 178 186 165 176 
			 Devon and Cornwall 218 218 222 251 238 251 344 305 312 348 310 323 
			 Dorset 106 121 111 131 120 155 143 144 150 154 184 159 
			 Durham 61 103 117 101 108 125 114 133 154 140 158 134 
			 Essex 225 206 231 214 245 259 261 332 327 342 350 371 
			 Gloucestershire 91 107 88 85 94 93 112 126 111 114 122 136 
			 Greater Manchester 342 394 398 406 429 441 495 492 530 479 540 550 
			 Hampshire 362 343 351 370 345 408 394 424 440 375 392 381 
			 Hertfordshire 133 144 136 171 182 224 233 238 237 261 276 250 
			 Humberside 98 101 89 145 122 119 115 135 132 159 114 60 
			 Kent 147 212 217 220 243 295 258 291 297 304 333 343 
			 Lancashire 302 325 292 278 269 321 303 330 325 395 382 385 
			 Leicestershire 110 103 111 118 123 143 151 160 158 142 166 134 
			 Lincolnshire 95 88 85 67 82 73 110 143 142 124 128 135 
			 Merseyside 218 228 171 179 174 226 279 311 306 317 373 335 
			 Metropolitan Police 1,280 1,153 1,085 995 947 1,105 1,073 1,218 1,159 1,257 1,265 1,277 
			 Norfolk 85 97 92 92 107 143 114 140 145 147 157 159 
			 North Yorkshire 142 103 123 124 123 125 147 138 166 158 180 162 
			 Northamptonshire 78 90 93 64 28 24 82 95 109 96 96 123 
			 Northumbria 179 220 219 234 219 274 302 316 280 320 352 343 
			 Nottinghamshire 149 137 152 159 149 104 152 175 170 209 199 202 
			 South Yorkshire 136 168 146 166 164 182 216 198 190 203 226 236 
			 Staffordshire 165 181 143 137 145 194 187 210 205 195 210 244 
			 Suffolk 98 104 119 90 92 108 143 145 122 130 138 140 
			 Surrey 123 152 166 180 198 200 183 178 219 202 252 242 
			 Sussex 255 198 236 217 255 240 261 328 296 330 351 295 
			 Thames Valley 341 352 335 375 333 451 422 385 402 416 423 411 
			 Warwickshire 78 77 86 70 98 84 92 76 102 134 132 132 
			 West Mercia 105 112 138 139 160 197 181 180 138 205 179 175 
			 West Midlands 358 333 292 374 356 364 402 481 500 543 536 465 
			 West Yorkshire 271 284 274 286 265 287 308 312 334 316 389 375 
			 Wiltshire 103 85 104 104 104 113 127 109 121 124 125 106 
			 Dyfed-Powys 90 103 96 73 93 103 115 123 113 113 114 111 
			 Gwent 107 105 96 107 125 96 125 140 170 151 144 166 
			 North Wales 124 131 139 132 121 138 148 145 158 159 170 163 
			 South Wales(3) 205 232 227 254 269 298 317 309 345 335 355 293 
			 Total England and Wales 7,912 7,990 7,868 7,984 7,924 8,989 9,539 10,169 10,258 10,678 11,086 10,767 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008.  Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services-Ministry of Justice.

Drugs: Convictions

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) arrests,  (b) prosecutions,  (c) convictions and  (d) cautions of (i) men and (ii) women in each police force area for drug offences relating to each type of drug there were in each year since 1997.

Claire Ward: The number of offenders cautioned, defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts by drug class, sex and police force area, 1997 to 2008 (latest available) can be viewed in tables 1 and 2 that have been placed in the House Library.
	Court data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person, robbery and drug offences.
	Data on arrests for drug offences from 1999-2000 (previous data unavailable) to 2007-08 (latest available) are provided in tables 3 and 4 as follows. It is not possible from these centrally reported data, to identify the specific drugs involved in the arrests.
	
		
			  Table 3: Number of males arrested for drug offences by sex and police force area, England and Wales, 1999-2000 to 2007-08 
			   Males 
			  Force name  1999-2000( 1)  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Avon and Somerset 1,436 1,735 1,698 1,670 1,433 1,231 1,229 1,444 1,892 
			 Bedfordshire 892 775 850 789 695 550 526 471 652 
			 Cambridgeshire 725 619 694 585 543 439 581 751 910 
			 Cheshire 1,415 1,250 1,166 1,288 873 846 584 661 828 
			 Cleveland 1,242 1,043 1,468 1,499 1,383 n/a 1,138 878 920 
			 Cumbria 1,103 761 755 861 785 770 764 767 717 
			 Derbyshire 1,180 1,020 1,046 1,214 1,288 1,095 810 691 861 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2,059 1,903 2,456 2,478 2,250 1,554 1,602 1,544 1,806 
			 Dorset 1,111 948 1,036 946 910 820 839 899 908 
			 Durham n/a n/a n/a n/a 868 797 918 695 648 
			 Essex 1,704 1,833 1,438 1,625 1,399 959 877 966 1,992 
			 Gloucestershire 904 903 893 890 794 542 538 459 681 
			 Greater Manchester 4,169 3,992 3,703 4,481 4,413 3,502 3,517 3,734 4,597 
			 Hampshire 3,392 2,695 2,668 2,628 2,587 2,061 1,979 1,559 2,077 
			 Hertfordshire 946 1,106 1,015 1,053 1,125 1,216 1,335 1,383 1,794 
			 Humberside n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,200 984 870 999 1,083 
			 Kent 2,663 2,072 2,077 2,144 1,772 1,343 1,658 1,709 2,393 
			 Lancashire 2,881 2,812 2,898 3,616 3,165 2,927 2,955 2,867 3,742 
			 Leicestershire 1,200 1,120 1,396 1,624 1,158 940 897 835 891 
			 Lincolnshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 238 776 717 
			 London, City of n/a n/a 440 640 577 279 341 374 409 
			 Merseyside 4,990 4,741 4,675 6,650 6,275 4,231 4,100 3,502 6,164 
			 Metropolitan Police 22,807 20,348 21,417 25,823 21,771 14,489 16,342 17,598 20,505 
			 Norfolk 1,201 899 881 905 921 812 709 782 1,008 
			 Northamptonshire 670 603 545 507 439 589 561 538 538 
			 Northumbria 4,044 4,153 4,642 5,103 4,609 3,723 3,882 3,852 3,142 
			 North Yorkshire 1,295 1,132 1,359 1,470 1,471 n/a n/a 842 994 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,363 1,621 1,481 1,604 1,824 1,284 n/a 1,670 2,148 
			 South Yorkshire 2,984 2,935 2,797 2,895 2,327 1,649 1,623 1,742 2,083 
			 Staffordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,378 1,119 931 1,336 1,539 
			 Suffolk 858 695 633 752 813 664 712 704 589 
			 Surrey 1,059 1,354 1,374 1,306 1,015 835 889 799 1,108 
			 Sussex 327 1,481 1,892 2,003 1,717 1,271 1,610 1,488 1,868 
			 Thames Valley 3,305 3,033 3,192 3,257 3,232 3,910 4,299 4,275 4,160 
			 Warwickshire 605 413 462 457 477 334 316 342 307 
			 West Mercia 1,488 1,263 1,166 1,069 1,090 905 1,009 972 960 
			 West Midlands n/a n/a n/a 6,209 5,716 3,102 3,614 3,410 4,342 
			 West Yorkshire 4,353 3,954 3,574 4,393 3,958 3,273 3,839 3,701 3,345 
			 Wiltshire 648 601 576 473 516 326 374 344 324 
			   
			 Dyfed Powys n/a 1,376 2,343 2,681 2,031 1,176 1,323 1,138 1,126 
			 Gwent n/a n/a n/a 1,534 1,250 556 643 755 733 
			 North Wales 1,265 1,089 1,106 1,560 1,854 1,006 776 1,242 1,306 
			 South Wales 556 2,609 3,075 2,931 2,386 1,307 1,802 1,797 2,035 
			   
			 England and Wales(1) 105,400 97,400 101,500 114,700 97,800 72,500 76,300 77,291 90,842 
			 n/a = Data not available (1) Figures for England and Wales from 1999-2000 to 2005-06 are estimated to take account of missing data for some forces, additionally, data for 1999-2000 is of lower quality than subsequent years due to it being the first year data on arrests were collected. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4: Number of females arrested for drug offences by sex and police force area, England and Wales, 1999-2000 to 2007-08 
			   Females 
			  Force name  1999-2000( 1)  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Avon and Somerset 248 328 317 340 305 269 267 247 300 
			 Bedfordshire 101 129 119 116 116 104 86 53 83 
			 Cambridgeshire 117 116 110 126 103 86 116 159 180 
			 Cheshire 207 141 110 139 108 117 121 123 124 
			 Cleveland 252 216 377 471 435 n/a 332 251 291 
			 Cumbria 194 186 121 154 152 157 148 164 116 
			 Derbyshire 173 137 170 163 229 220 149 128 172 
			 Devon and Cornwall 407 344 485 554 485 352 381 341 398 
			 Dorset 223 176 213 168 189 142 212 231 200 
			 Durham n/a n/a n/a n/a 167 163 193 160 190 
			 Essex 350 275 205 225 186 177 137 164 316 
			 Gloucestershire 183 150 173 195 138 124 101 84 144 
			 Greater Manchester 622 601 512 655 713 632 630 535 726 
			 Hampshire 376 364 453 461 434 397 396 317 394 
			 Hertfordshire 135 145 150 146 176 177 227 205 250 
			 Humberside n/a n/a n/a n/a 284 258 212 210 259 
			 Kent 499 316 337 377 368 305 315 331 389 
			 Lancashire 434 373 418 594 483 422 432 413 508 
			 Leicestershire 181 183 204 198 168 163 169 153 136 
			 Lincolnshire n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 43 130 111 
			 London, City of n/a n/a 28 36 58 41 33 29 32 
			 Merseyside 504 463 488 667 632 347 188 380 603 
			 Metropolitan Police 2,478 2,182 2,155 2,284 2,085 1,650 1,609 1,735 1,926 
			 Norfolk 206 163 139 169 196 200 155 173 191 
			 Northamptonshire 136 95 113 115 114 122 124 100 90 
			 Northumbria 675 678 831 859 781 698 624 614 590 
			 North Yorkshire 208 200 190 237 352 n/a n/a 188 240 
			 Nottinghamshire 264 251 255 258 349 301 n/a 307 413 
			 South Yorkshire 602 551 483 506 595 447 428 415 459 
			 Staffordshire n/a n/a n/a n/a 238 231 183 212 269 
			 Suffolk 154 99 94 125 192 166 143 131 114 
			 Surrey 153 178 172 169 144 145 156 139 161 
			 Sussex 62 285 390 392 397 279 338 365 438 
			 Thames Valley 522 518 506 516 613 571 624 582 579 
			 Warwickshire 76 41 59 64 55 60 63 45 48 
			 West Mercia 247 204 200 170 207 185 204 167 157 
			 West Midlands n/a n/a n/a 675 663 391 435 395 424 
			 West Yorkshire 712 775 728 722 752 518 782 679 533 
			 Wiltshire 122 90 95 69 63 62 72 64 75 
			   
			 Dyfed Powys n/a 250 385 461 377 218 228 218 225 
			 Gwent n/a n/a n/a 185 130 71 86 92 96 
			 North Wales 188 150 144 239 282 181 159 228 217 
			 South Wales 99 443 656 640 529 387 434 445 523 
			   
			 England and Wales(1) 15,700 13,900 15,100 16,400 15,200 12,200 12,300 12,102 13,690 
			 n/a = Data not available (1) Figures for England and Wales from 1999-2000 to 2005-06 are estimated to take account of missing data for some forces, additionally, data for 1999-2000 is of lower quality than subsequent years due to it being the first year data on arrests were collected.

Freedom of Information: Welsh Language

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the merits of translating information provided in response to requests made under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998 from  (a) English to Welsh and  (b) Welsh to English in cases where the request is made by a person who does not have an adequate understanding of the language used in the documents.

Michael Wills: The Government have made no such assessment. Where an individual makes a request for information under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) or the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), any information released will generally be provided in the language in which it is held. There are no obligations under either the DPA or the FOIA for organisations to translate the information requested into different languages.

Legal Aid

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much and what proportion of the legal aid budget has been spent on terrorism cases in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is unable to identify all legal aid expenditure on terrorism cases as terrorism cases do not have a specific identifying code for all the legal aid schemes. Cases in the Crown Court do not have an identifying code unless they are funded under the Very High Cost Case Scheme (VHCC). Therefore, it is not possible to state what proportion of all legal aid expenditure was attributable to terrorism cases.
	Table 1 shows legal aid expenditure during each of the last five years on terrorism cases funded under the VHCC scheme covering cases expected to last 41 days or longer at trial.
	Table 2 shows legal aid expenditure during each of the last three years on terrorism cases funded under the magistrates court fee scheme and the police station advice and assistance scheme. The unique code for identifying terrorism cases under the magistrates court fee scheme and the police station advice and assistance scheme was introduced in 2007-08.
	
		
			  Table 1: VHCC legal aid expenditure 
			   £000 
			 2005-06 7,000 
			 2006-07 12,000 
			 2007-08 22,000 
			 2008-09 20,200 
			 2009-10(1) 8,600 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: L egal aid expenditure 
			  £000 
			   Police station advice and assistance  Magistrates court fee scheme  Total 
			 2005-06 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2006-07 n/a n/a n/a 
			 2007-08 283.5 187.1 470.6 
			 2008-09 152.9 179.2 332.1 
			 2009-10(1) 132.2 96.0 228.1 
			 (1) Up to and including January 2010.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much expenditure his Department incurred on the employment of special advisers and communications and press officers in each year since 2003.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was formed in May 2007.
	 Special Advisers
	The amount spent on special advisers is as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Financial year 
			   2008-09  2007-08 
			 Wages and salaries 147 200 
			 Social security costs 14 21 
			 Other pension costs 36 17 
			 Total 197 238 
		
	
	The figures above represent the element of costs within note 9 (a) to the published departmental annual resource accounts that relates to MoJ's Request for Resource 1 in respect of MoJ headquarters and executive agencies. The balance of the published totals, which amount to £424,000 in 2008-09 and £511,000 in 2007-08, reflects the costs of Special Advisors supporting the Scotland Office (MoJ Request for Resource 2) and the Wales Office (MoJ Request for Resource 3).
	 Press Officers
	The cost of press officers, including contractors and agency staff and excluding support staff, is as follows:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2008-09 2,219 
			 2007-08 1,774 
		
	
	 Communications Officers
	Communications officers include intranet/internet staff, event organisation, marketing and publishing staff and others involved in communications roles. Expenditure, including contractors and agency staff within the head office team, is as follows:
	
		
			   £000 
			 2008-09 4,694 
			 2007-08 3,862 
		
	
	The costs of press officers and communications officers relate to MoJ headquarters and its four executive agencies (HM Courts Service, the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian).
	The growth in expenditure on press officers and communications officers reflects the significantly increased size and remit of MoJ compared to its predecessor, the Department for Constitutional Affairs, and a consequent need to increase the number and capability of staff employed. To meet the challenge, a number of communications-led projects were undertaken which required the employment of specialist contractors by the MoJ HQ Communications Directorate for a limited period of time which further increased costs in 2008-09 on a one-off basis.
	The MoJ is one of the largest Departments in Government. Communications, including the work of the press office, is an important element of this. The MoJ press office operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, dealing with all media relations for the Department and its agencies from the international, national and regional media.

Offending Behaviour Course

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of offenders with  (a) learning difficulties and  (b) learning disabilities had (i) taken part in an Offending Behaviour Course and (ii) qualified for an Offending Behaviour Course and were awaiting a starting date on the last date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: This is a complex area of work and there is an extensive programme of work under way to better understand and meet the needs of offenders with learning disabilities. Much of this work is set out in a National Delivery Plan which was published by the Department of Health in November 2009 which is being overseen by a new Health and Criminal Justice Board. This plan builds on the Government's response to Lord Bradley's review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the Criminal Justice System, and work already under way.
	There is a commitment across Government to work together to improve the health and well being of offenders across the criminal justice pathway-in police, courts, probation and prison services, and in the community.
	Detailed information on offenders with learning difficulties or disabilities is held in a number of places including individual case files or by those who have undertaken specialist assessments or are responsible for particular activities or data. Therefore to collate, validate and provide meaningful information for this question, and in many cases manually check records, could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
	Whether an offender requires a particular programme will depend upon the assessment of their risk and needs. All reasonable adjustments should be made to ensure programmes are accessible to those who could potentially benefit, and if not alternative provision should be made.
	The National Offender Management Service offers a number of interventions to meet the needs of offenders including for example an adapted sex offender treatment programme. It has also recently been agreed to develop an adapted version of the Thinking Skills Programme, and a new programme for violent offenders to accommodate a broader range of learning needs.

Young Offender Institutions: Languages

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young offender institutions have foreign national co-ordinator posts; and how many such posts are vacant.

Maria Eagle: Although each prison in England and Wales is required to produce a foreign national prisoner policy it is not a mandatory requirement of this policy that a foreign national coordinator be appointed. Nevertheless, out of 21 designated young offender institutions in England and Wales 14 currently have foreign national coordinators in post.

Young Offender Institutions: Languages

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what guidance and training is available to young offender institution staff in working with children who do not speak English as a first language;
	(2)  what provision is made for young people in prison who do not speak English
	(3)  in how many young offender institutions interpreters are provided for  (a) induction,  (b) education,  (c) healthcare,  (d) sentence planning and  (e) disciplinary matters.

Maria Eagle: There are no specific instructions or training for staff in young offender institutions working with children who do not speak English. However guidance issued to' establishments to support the development of local polices for managing foreign national prisoners reminds staff of the need to support prisoners whose English is poor and to encourage to them learn English while in prison. All establishments are able to offer courses in English as a second language as part of the core curriculum where the need arises.
	All establishments in England and Wales can access interpreting and translation services. The availability of these services should, wherever possible, be advertised throughout establishments and, in particular, in areas such as reception, induction, health care and segregation units.
	Information on the use of interpreting facilities is not broken down by service within individual establishments.

Young Offender Institutions: Languages

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice under what circumstances an interpreter is required to be provided for a foreign national child in custody.

Maria Eagle: Providers of secure accommodation for young people are required to ensure that young people are able to understand what their sentence involves. It is particularly important that young people can understand and contribute to the meetings that are held to plan and review their progress while in custody. If this requires the use of an interpreter or translation service then this must be arranged.
	Young people must receive key documentation in a form that they can understand. This may involve the information being reproduced in their own language or provision of an interpreter or translation service to explain it to them.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the  (a) cost,  (b) capital cost and  (c) cost per square metre of each Building Schools for the Future project.

Vernon Coaker: The National Audit Office report, "The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Programme: Renewing the secondary school estate" (HC 135 Session 2008-09 12 February 2009) estimated that the average cost to local authorities of establishing a Local Education Partnership to deliver its BSF project was £6.5 million. This includes local authority staff and adviser costs.
	The cost of building a school varies greatly depending on the size, location, type of site, facilities included, and the amount of new build and refurbishment in the project. The capital cost of BSF projects is kept under control by the funding arrangements the Department has put in place with Partnerships for Schools. These place the cost of increasing the scope of school projects with the local authorities, where responsibility lies for keeping projects affordable.
	The average total capital cost and cost per square metre of completed BSF mainstream schools is:
	
		
			   Average total capital cost (£ million at today's prices)  Cost per square metre (£ at today's prices) 
			 New build schools 20.04 1,810 
			 Remodelled/refurbished schools 11.06 1,157 
		
	
	The capital cost includes preliminaries, overhead and profit, external works, professional fees and surveys, sub and super structure, internal finishes, building fittings and furnishings, services and furniture and equipment. Average cost information has been provided because of the commercial sensitivity of data on individual schools.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reason Dorset county council has not been invited to enter the Building Schools for the Future programme in 2009-10.

Vernon Coaker: Local authorities are prioritised on the need for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment but must also demonstrate that they are ready and able, and have all the elements in place to deliver their BSF project. As well as assessing submissions to enter on a case-by-case basis, bids are also compared against each other so that the most ready and able are selected.
	The assessment of Dorset's "Readiness to Deliver" submission concluded that further work is needed in some areas before the authority can be deemed ready to enter BSF. Applications from some authorities were also considered to be stronger than that submitted by Dorset.
	Partnerships for Schools will work with the local authority over the coming weeks to address the areas that need further work.

Education: Finance

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its predecessors have spent on  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school education in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) nationwide in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: Figures are not available for the parliamentary constituency of Jarrow as data are collected at a local authority level. The available information has been placed in the Libraries.

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 at academies achieved five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents in each year since 2000.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is in the following table. The first academy opened in September 2002 with first results published for 2003.
	
		
			   Number of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C inc. English and Maths in Academies  Percentage of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at grades A*-C inc. English and maths academies 
			 2003 58 10.8 
			 2004 221 11.9 
			 2005 290 13.9 
			 2006 1,044 29.3 
			 2007 1,819 28.4 
			 2008 3,790 31.7 
			 2009 6,729 33.8 
		
	
	Qualifications included are full GCSEs, GCSE double awards and applied GCSEs. Equivalents are excluded.
	Figures for 2003 and 2004 are based on pupils aged 15. All other figures are based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4.

GCSE

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of 16-year-olds did not achieve five GCSEs at grades A* to C in  (a) Leeds West constituency,  (b) West Yorkshire and  (c) England in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The proportion of pupils at the end Key Stage 4 that did not achieve five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C or the equivalent in 2009 was:
	 (a) 47.0 per cent. in maintained schools located in the Leeds West constituency.
	 (b) 32.0 per cent. in schools maintained by West Yorkshire local authorities of Leeds Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.
	 (c) 30.0 per cent. in all schools in England.
	This answer is derived from the revised Achievement and Attainment tables.

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 of each ethnic group who were  (a) eligible and  (b) not eligible for free school meals, did not achieve a GCSE at A* to C grade in (i) English, (ii) mathematics, (iii) history, (iv) French and (v) physics in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 6 January 2010
	Figures for 2005 to 2009 are presented in the tables and are derived from the National Pupil Database (NPD). The way subject level information has been captured on the NPD means that figures prior to 2005 are not consistent with later years and have therefore not been provided in this answer.
	Figures are based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4.
	
		
			White  Mixed  Asian  Black 
			No. of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C 
			 English 2005 170,490 40,898 3,438 1,685 9,402 6,174 6,603 4,250 
			  2006 172,966 39,481 3,741 1,785 10,029 5,885 6,757 4,193 
			  2007 171,548 38,027 4,190 1,902 10,200 5,500 6,781 3,843 
			  2008 163,920 36,193 4,456 1,808 10,682 5,152 6,530 3,731 
			  2009 148,438 34,280 4,236 1,801 10,547 4,996 6,263 3,678 
			   
			 Maths 2005 197,517 43,629 4,346 1,935 9,810 6,567 7,780 4,684 
			  2006 197,738 41,823 4,753 2,007 10,317 6,136 8,028 4,562 
			  2007 192,470 40,052 5,051 2,102 10,207 5,787 7,768 4,076 
			  2008 183,003 37,620 5,424 2,029 10,531 5,295 7,471 3,915 
			  2009 164,815 35,642 5,021 2,047 10,415 5,097 7,098 3,918 
			   
			 History 2005 337,632 52,116 7,377 2,430 19,723 9,530 11,913 6,020 
			  2006 348,146 50,789 8,231 2,629 21,381 9,366 12,778 6,125 
			  2007 355,783 49,972 9,349 2,852 22,408 9,029 13,268 5,916 
			  2008 353,086 48,564 10,377 2,879 24,014 8,867 13,618 5,912 
			  2009 335,422 47,462 10,654 3,024 25,085 8,963 13,984 6,227 
			   
			 French 2005 335,547 52,078 7,086 2,421 19,122 9,576 11,471 5,641 
			  2006 356,509 51,492 8,193 2,605 21,218 9,624 12,590 5,861 
			  2007 370,361 50,711 9,393 2,849 22,598 9,378 13,169 5,640 
			  2008 373,047 49,441 10,574 2,875 24,487 9,193 13,483 5,641 
			  2009 355,510 48,494 10,850 3,063 25,579 9,251 13,945 5,983 
			   
			 Physics 2005 408,161 54,999 8,839 2,626 23,019 10,424 13,419 6,423 
			  2006 418,481 53,629 9,808 2,797 24,853 10,346 14,543 6,586 
			  2007 424,182 52,716 10,883 3,054 25,787 9,974 15,025 6,339 
			  2008 409,035 50,738 11,760 3,062 26,895 9,644 15,266 6,315 
			  2009 378,839 49,425 11,828 3,200 27,100 9,596 15,412 6,635 
		
	
	
		
			Chinese  Any other ethnic group  Refused or not obtained 
			No. of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  No. of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C 
			 English 2005 550 85 1,368 1,057 7,629 1,648 
			  2006 581 99 1,341 1,028 6,599 1,258 
			  2007 475 72 1,518 989 4,225 1,054 
			  2008 532 86 1,608 1,055 2,983 796 
			  2009 527 48 1,772 1,007 2,377 610 
			 
			 Maths 2005 301 51 1,405 1,004 8,763 1,762 
			  2006 288 73 1,360 1,000 7,432 1,329 
			  2007 236 49 1,444 922 4,780 1,109 
			  2008 236 51 1,449 965 3,318 865 
			  2009 256 47 1,594 935 2,564 632 
			 
			 History 2005 1,570 188 2,630 1,530 14,039 2,163 
			  2006 1,489 216 2,587 1,566 11,896 1,651 
			  2007 1,440 172 2,829 1,538 8,019 1,401 
			  2008 1,476 202 3,064 1,703 5,923 1,116 
			  2009 1,581 162 3,345 1,770 5,066 899 
			 
			 French 2005 1,347 180 2,403 1,476 14,122 2,156 
			  2006 1,350 193 2,452 1,477 12,218 1,671 
			  2007 1,293 167 2,674 1,476 8,404 1,412 
			  2008 1,424 205 2,852 1,654 6,168 1,133 
			  2009 1,498 173 3,250 1,728 5,325 913 
			 
			 Physics 2005 1,811 212 3,020 1,656 16,708 2,300 
			  2006 1,676 235 2,977 1,677 14,122 1,748 
			  2007 1,607 189 3,253 1,664 9,516 1,474 
			  2008 1,553 216 3,350 1,839 6,766 1,173 
			  2009 1,530 164 3,637 1,901 5,736 950 
		
	
	
		
			White  Mixed  Asian  Black 
			% of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C 
			 English 2005 39.6 73.6 36.5 63.3 38.2 58.1 47.7 65.1 
			  2006 39.0 72.8 35.8 62.7 37.6 55.6 44.9 62.8 
			  2007 38.0 71.3 35.9 61.3 36.6 53.8 43.3 59.5 
			  2008 36.4 69.9 34.2 57.4 35.6 51.4 40.5 57.7 
			  2009 34.5 67.5 31.2 54.3 33.6 49.2 37.5 53.3 
			   
			 Maths 2005 45.9 78.5 46.1 72.7 39.8 61.8 56.1 71.7 
			  2006 44.5 77.1 45.4 70.5 38.6 58.0 53.4 68.3 
			  2007 42.7 75.1 43.3 67.8 36.6 56.6 49.6 63.1 
			  2008 40.7 72.7 41.7 64.4 35.1 52.8 46.4 60.6 
			  2009 38.3 70.1 37.0 61.7 33.2 50.2 42.5 56.8 
			   
			 History 2005 78.4 93.7 78.3 91.4 80.1 89.6 86.0 92.2 
			  2006 78.4 93.7 78.7 92.4 80.1 88.5 85.0 91.7 
			  2007 78.9 93.7 80.1 91.9 80.4 88.3 84.8 91.6 
			  2008 78.5 93.8 79.7 91.4 80.0 88.4 84.6 91.5 
			  2009 78.0 93.4 78.5 91.2 80.0 88.3 83.7 90.3 
			   
			 French 2005 77.9 93.7 75.2 91.0 77.6 90.1 82.8 86.4 
			  2006 80.3 95.0 78.3 91.5 79.5 90.9 83.7 87.7 
			  2007 82.1 95.0 80.4 91.8 81.1 91.7 84.1 87.3 
			  2008 82.9 95.5 81.2 91.3 81.6 91.7 83.7 87.3 
			  2009 82.7 95.4 79.9 92.4 81.6 91.2 83.5 86.7 
			   
			 Physics 2005 94.8 98.9 93.8 98.7 93.4 98.1 96.8 98.3 
			  2006 94.3 98.9 93.8 98.3 93.1 97.7 96.7 98.6 
			  2007 94.0 98.8 93.2 98.5 92.5 97.6 96.0 98.1 
			  2008 90.9 98.0 90.3 97.2 89.6 96.2 94.8 97.7 
			  2009 88.1 97.3 87.2 96.5 86.4 94.6 92.2 96.2 
		
	
	
		
			Chinese  Any other ethnic group  Refused or not obtained 
			% of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of Non-FSM pupils not achieving A*-C  % of FSM pupils not achieving A*-C 
			 +English 2005 26.3 36.6 42.2 62.6 43.7 70.8 
			  2006 29.6 39.1 41.8 59.6 44.6 70.6 
			  2007 24.8 34.1 43.6 57.6 42.0 70.2 
			  2008 26.9 33.7 43.3 55.8 39.9 65.8 
			  2009 25.5 23.0 43.2 50.3 36.2 61.8 
			 
			 Maths 2005 14.4 22.0 43.4 59.4 50.2 75.7 
			  2006 14.6 28.9 42.4 57.9 50.2 74.6 
			  2007 12.3 23.2 41.5 53.7 47.5 73.9 
			  2008 11.9 20.0 39.0 51.0 44.4 71.5 
			  2009 12.4 22.5 38.9 46.7 39.1 64.0 
			 
			 History 2005 75.2 81.0 81.2 90.6 80.3 93.0 
			  2006 75.7 85.4 80.6 90.7 80.4 92.6 
			  2007 75.3 81.5 81.3 89.5 79.8 93.3 
			  2008 74.5 79.2 82.5 90.0 79.2 92.3 
			  2009 76.5 77.5 81.6 88.5 77.2 91.1 
			 
			 French 2005 64.5 77.6 74.2 87.4 80.8 92.7 
			  2006 68.7 76.3 76.4 85.6 82.5 93.8 
			  2007 67.6 79.1 76.8 85.9 83.6 94.1 
			  2008 71.9 80.4 76.8 87.4 82.5 93.7 
			  2009 72.5 82.8 79.3 86.4 81.2 92.5 
			 
			 Physics 2005 86.7 91.4 93.2 98.0 95.6 98.8 
			  2006 85.2 92.9 92.7 97.2 95.4 98.1 
			  2007 84.0 89.6 93.5 96.9 94.7 98.2 
			  2008 78.4 84.7 90.2 97.2 90.5 97.0 
			  2009 74.1 78.5 88.7 95.0 87.4 96.3

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of  (a) boys and  (b) girls achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics but excluding equivalents in the (i) earliest and (ii) most recent year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 11 January 2010
	In 1997, 96,468 (32.2 per cent.) boys and 112,587 (39.2 per cent.) girls aged 15 achieved five or more GCSEs(1) at grade A*-C including English and maths.
	In 2009, 141,357 (43.5 per cent.) boys and 162,523 (52.5 per cent.) girls at the end of Key Stage 4 achieved five or more GCSEs(2) at grade A*-C including English and maths.
	(1 )Includes full, double and short course GCSEs only.
	(2) Includes full, double and short course GCSEs as well as GCSEs in vocational subjects.

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in  (a) England,  (b) each region and  (c) each parliamentary constituency achieved five or more GCSEs excluding equivalent qualifications at grades A* to C in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The requested information by Government office region and England can be found in the following table. The figures by parliamentary constituency have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	
		
			  N umber and percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4( 1)  in (a) England( 2) , (b) each Government  office region( 3)  achieving five or more A*-C grades at GCSE excluding equivalents in 2008-09 
			   Number of pupils( 1)  achieving 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE excluding equivalents  Percentage of pupils( 1)  achieving 5+A*-C grades at GCSE excluding equivalents 
			 North East 15,134 49.3 
			 North West 44,225 53.1 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 30,029 49.3 
			 East Midlands 27,334 52.9 
			 West Midlands 32,826 50.6 
			 East 36,583 56.1 
			 London 42,100 57.3 
			 South East 51,779 57.7 
			 South West 32,319 57.1 
			 England 312,404 54.0 
			 (1) National and Regional figures include pupils attending all maintained schools (including city technology colleges and academies). (2) England figures include pupils recently arrived from overseas. (3) Regional figures do not include pupils recently arrived from overseas.  Source:  National Pupil Database (2008-09 amended data)

GCSE: Young Offenders

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of 16-year-olds who had been in custody for more than one year was entered for GCSE examinations in each year since 1997; and what proportion gained five A* to C grades at GCSE in each such year.

Vernon Coaker: Data from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) shows that in the 2006/07 academic year, there were 163 enrolments in GCSEs by under 18-year-olds in HM Prison Service Young Offender Institutions. Of these, 18 resulted in grades A* to C and 50 resulted in grades below C. In the 2007/08 academic year, there were 207 enrolments in GCSEs. Of these, seven resulted in grades A* to C, 57 resulted in grades below C and there were 52 GCSE courses still to be completed.
	The data above includes only achievements that were secured by young people who took the examination while they were in custody. Those who were released before the examination date may have continued study and taken examinations in the community. Some young people in Young Offender Institutions are still registered at schools and colleges in the community and therefore any GCSEs that they achieve while in custody will be reflected in the achievement figures of their respective school or college.
	HM Prison Service Young Offender Institutions make up part of the custodial estate for under 18s and achievements of GCSEs in Secure Children's Homes, Secure Training Centres, or private prisons are not recorded centrally.

Local Government Finance

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden of 22 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1645W, on local government finance, what data sets not contained in the national indicator set local authorities are required to submit to his Department.

Vernon Coaker: Local authorities are required under section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (formerly section 52 of the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998) to prepare and submit an education budget statement (containing details of the LAs funding plans for the financial year) before the start of each financial year (i.e. by 31 March). They are also obliged to prepare and submit an education outturn statement (containing details of the actual expenditure and funding of schools and LAs during the financial year) at the end of each financial year.
	Details on exactly what data are collected by these exercises can be accessed via the Every Child Matters website:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/strategy/financeandfunding/informationforlocalauthorities/section52/section52/

Pupils: City of York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much was spent on average per child on  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school pupils in state schools in the City of York (i) in cash terms and (ii) at constant prices in each year since 1996-97.

Vernon Coaker: The available information is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  School based expenditure per pupil in City of York local authority  from 1996-97 to  2008-09 
			   Cash terms expenditure per pupil in  C ity of York LA  Cash terms expenditure per pupil in England 
			   Primary  e ducation  Pre-primary and primary education  Secondary education  Primary  e ducation  Pre-primary and primary education  Secondary education 
			 1996-97 - 1,540 2,210 - 1,740 2,350 
			 1997-98 - 1,600 2,350 - 1,740 2,360 
			 1998-99 - 1,730 2,460 - 1,870 2,450 
			
			 1999-2000 1,760 1,800 2,430 2,010 2,050 2,610 
			 2000-01 1,860 1,870 2,640 2,210 2,280 2,830 
			 2001-02 2,180 2,260 2,830 2,480 2,570 3,150 
			
			 2002-03 2,390 - 3,080 2,530 - 3,230 
			 2003-04 2,560 - 3,330 2,750 - 3,550 
			 2004-05 2,680 - 3,660 2,910 - 3,800 
			 2005-06 2,930 - 3,860 3,150 - 4,070 
			 2006-07 3,140 - 3,970 3,360 - 4,320 
			 2007-08 3,290 - 4,190 3,580 - 4,620 
			 2008-09 3,490 - 4,570 3,780 - 4,890 
			  Notes: 1. The financial information used in the answer to this PQ is taken from the Department's s52 data collection. 2. 1999-2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the R01 form collected by CLG to the Section 52 form from the DCSF. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of consistent financial reporting (CFR) and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables. The change in sources is shown by blank rows. 3. Pupil numbers include only those pupils attending maintained establishments within each sector and are drawn from the DCSF annual schools census adjusted to be on a financial year basis. 4. Local government reorganisation (LGR) took place during the mid to late 1990's 5. Expenditure was not distinguished between the pre-primary and primary sectors until the inception of Section 52 for financial year 1999-2000. 6. School based expenditure in LA maintained nursery schools was not recorded in 2002-03 and comparable figures are not available for 2003-04 onwards. 7. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 10 March 2010.

Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) physics,  (b) chemistry and  (c) mathematics teachers were recruited through school-based teacher training programmes excluding Teach First in (i) 1997, (ii) 2004, (iii) 2006 and (iv) the latest year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: holding answers 1 March 2010
	 The available information is given in two tables. The first shows recruitment to employment based initial teacher training courses, excluding the Teach First programme. The second table shows recruitment to school centred initial teacher training courses.
	
		
			  Recruitment to secondary initial teacher training courses: employment based routes, excluding Teach First ,  Years: 1997/98, 2004/05, 2006/07 and 2008/0 9 ,  Coverage: England 
			   1997/98  2004/05  2006/07  2008/09 
			 Secondary 50 4,560 4,410 3,930 
			  Of which: 
			  
			 Mathematics * 530 460 440 
			  
			 Science * 700 550 490 
			 Biology n/a n/a 90 110 
			 Chemistry n/a n/a 70 90 
			 General sciences n/a n/a 350 220 
			 Physics n/a n/a 50 80 
			 n/a = Not available * = Less than 5  Notes: 1. Includes recruitment to the Graduate Teacher Programme, Registered Teacher Programme and the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme. Excludes the Teach First programme, which started in 2003/04. 2. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for 1997/98 have been taken from TDA records at the end of the academic year and are not directly comparable with data for later years. 4. The latest available full year figures for recruitment to employment based courses are for 2008/09. Recruitment data for 2009/10 relate to the autumn term only.  Source: TDA's Employment Based Routes Database 
		
	
	
		
			  Recruitment to secondary school centred initial teacher training courses by selected subject ,  Years: 1997/98, 2004/05, 2006/07, 2008/09 and 2009/10 ,  Coverage: England 
			   1997/98  2004/05  2006/07  2008/09  2009/10 
			 Secondary 430 850 890 820 880 
			  Of which:  
			   
			 Mathematics 30 90 90 100 110 
			   
			 Science 70 140 160 160 150 
			 Biology n/a n/a 20 20 20 
			 Chemistry n/a n/a 10 10 20 
			 General sciences n/a n/a 120 120 110 
			 Physics n/a n/a 10 10 10 
			 n/a = Not available  Notes: 1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Recruitment numbers for 2009/10 are provisional and include actual and forecasted trainees who are expected to enter initial teacher training courses during the academic year.  Source: TDA's Trainee Numbers Census

Teachers

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many entrants into the Graduate Teacher Programme were  (a) under 23,  (b) between 23 and 25,  (c) between 26 and 30,  (d) between 31 and 35,  (e) between 36 and 40,  (f) between 41 and 45 and  (g) over 45 years old in (i) 1997, (ii) 2003 and (iii) the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 2 March 2010
	The available information is presented in the table and shows the number of trainees at the end of their first year of the Graduate Teacher Programme by age group in 2003/04 and 2007/08.
	The Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) was introduced in 1997/98 as a route for mature trainees with a lower age limit of 24. The anticipation of age discrimination legislation and a desire to widen access to GTP without threatening postgraduate and undergraduate routes led to the removal of the age restriction. The age limitation did not apply from 2003/04 in anticipation of the introduction of the age discrimination regulations in 2006 (Equal Employment (Age) regulations 2006).
	
		
			  Graduate Teacher Programme: Age breakdown of first year trainees, Years: 2003/04 and 2007/08, Coverage: England 
			   Age group  
			   Under 25  25 to 29  30 to 34  35 to 39  40 to 44  45 to 49  50 to 54  Over 55  Total 
			 2003/04 380 1,760 890 780 770 420 170 60 5,210 
			 2007/08 1,200 1,710 670 570 560 350 110 20 5,190 
			  Notes: 1. Data relating to the age of trainees are not collected on entering initial teacher training courses. This information is collected as part of the Performance Profiles at the end of the trainees' first year. 2. The Graduate Teacher Programme was introduced in 1997/98 but a breakdown by age is not available for this year. 3. Performance Profiles data are collected at the end of a trainees' first year. Data for 2008/09 were collected in autumn 2009 and will be published in July 2010. 4. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: TDA Performance Profiles.

Truancy

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in how many schools placed in special measures more than  (a) five,  (b) 10,  (c) 15,  (d) 20,  (e) 25,  (f) 30,  (g) 35,  (h) 40,  (i) 45,  (j) 50,  (k) 60 and  (l) 75 per cent. of pupils were classified as persistent truants in the latest year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The available information, on persistent absentees, is shown in the tables. These cover both authorised and unauthorised absence. Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.
	
		
			  Maintained primary( 1) , state funded secondary( 1, 2)  and special( 3)  schools: Number of schools placed in special measures by the percentage of persistent absentees( 4, 5) ,  Year: 2007/08 ,  Coverage: England 
			   Number of schools in special measures 
			  Percentage of school enrolments who are Persistent Absentees( 6, 7) :  Total  Primary  Secondary  Special 
			 More than 5% 121 39 67 15 
			 More than 10% 39 3 23 13 
			 More than 15% 19 0 7 12 
			 more than 20% 10 0 2 8 
			 More than 25% 8 0 0 8 
			 More than 30% 8 0 0 8 
			 More than 35% 8 0 0 8 
			 More than 40% 7 0 0 7 
			 More than 45% 6 0 0 6 
			 More than 50% 4 0 0 4 
			 More than 60% 2 0 0 2 
			 More than 75% 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Total number of schools in special measures(8) 380 283 81 16 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Includes schools with at least one enrolment aged between 5 and 15. (5) Persistent Absentees are defined as having 64 or more sessions of absence (authorised and unauthorised) during the year, typically over 20 per cent. overall absence rate. (6) The number of Persistent Absentees expressed as a percentage of the total number of enrolments. (7) Those schools counted in the 'more than 60%' category are also counted in all the lower categories. Similarly, for schools in the 'more than 50%' category, and all lower categories. (8) The total number of schools includes two schools (one primary and one special) that did not return absence data.  Source: School Census 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained primary( 1) , state funded secondary( 1, 2 ) and special( 3)  schools: Number of schools placed in special measures by the percentage of persistent absentees( 4, 5) ,  Year: 2006/07 ,  Coverage: England 
			   Number of schools in special measures 
			  Percentage of school enrolments who are Persistent Absentees( 6, 7) :  Total  Primary  Secondary  Special 
			 More than 5% 123 30 80 13 
			 More than 10% 58 0 46 12 
			 More than 15% 24 0 12 12 
			 More than 20% 15 0 3 12 
			 More than 25% 13 0 1 12 
			 More than 30% 10 0 0 10 
			 More than 35% 9 0 0 9 
			 More than 40% 7 0 0 7 
			 More than 45% 7 0 0 7 
			 More than 50% 6 0 0 6 
			 More than 60% 2 0 0 2 
			 More than 75% 0 0 0 0 
			  
			 Total number of schools in special measures(8) 375 274 84 17 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes maintained secondary schools, city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Includes schools with at least one enrolment aged between 5 and 15. (5) Persistent Absentees are defined as having 64 or more sessions of absence (authorised and unauthorised) during the year, typically over 20 per cent. overall absence rate. (6) The number of Persistent Absentees expressed as a percentage of the total number of enrolments. (7) Those schools counted in the 'more than 60%' category are also counted in all the lower categories. Similarly, for schools in the 'more than 50%' category, and all lower categories. (8) The total number of schools includes five schools (three primary and two special) that did not return absence data.  Source: School Census

Young People's Learning Agency

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will take steps to ensure that the Young People's Learning Agency publishes on its websites minutes of its council and committee meetings within two weeks of those meetings taking place; and if he will make a statement.

Iain Wright: holding answer 4 March 2010
	I expect the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) to follow best practice in making information publicly available, in line with the model publication scheme set out by the Information Commissioner's Office.
	The agency will commence operations on 1 April 2010 and will consider a publication scheme at its first meeting, although it is important to note that I would not expect the agency to publish records of any meetings until they have been agreed as a proper record.

HEALTH

Abortion

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 1393-94W, on abortion, whether his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated studies which demonstrate a direct causal link between its expenditure on contraception services in the last two years and the trend in the abortion rate over the same period; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated any studies which seek to demonstrate a direct causal link between recent investment in contraception and the decline in abortion rates over the same period. However, research undertaken in the United States found that 86 per cent. of the reduction in the US teenage birth rate between 1995 and 2002 was due to increased contraceptive use Santelli et al, "Explaining Recent Declines in Adolescent Pregnancy in the United States: The Contribution of Abstinence and Improved Contraception Use",  American Journal of Public Health, January 2007, vol. 97, No. 1. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Blood: Contamination

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of implementing Lord Archer's recommendations on compensation to those affected by NHS-supplied contaminated blood.

Gillian Merron: The Department has made an estimation that the potential cost of implementing in full Lord Archer's recommendations as set out in his report, on financial relief to those affected by NHS-supplied contaminated blood and blood products, could be approximately £3-3.5 billion.

Blood: Contamination

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what financial assistance, excluding lump sum payments, is available for those diagnosed with  (a) HIV and Hepatitis C,  (b) HIV only and  (c) Hepatitis C only as a result of the transfusion of NHS-supplied contaminated blood.

Gillian Merron: The Government currently make ex-gratia payments to those infected with HIV by contaminated NHS blood and blood products, through the Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts and to those infected with hepatitis-C by contaminated NHS blood and blood products through the Skipton Fund. In addition to the new flat rate sum of £12,800 per annum paid to infected registrants with the Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts, the trusts make discretionary payments which vary on a case by case basis. The Skipton fund only makes lump sum payments.

Cancer: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of urgent GP referrals for suspected cancer in Birmingham were seen by a specialist within two weeks of referral in each year since 1997; what percentage of urgent GP referrals of cancer cases in Birmingham were treated within two months of referral in each of those years; what the average waiting time to be seen by a specialist in cases of non-urgent GP referral for suspected cancer in Birmingham was in each such year; what the average time from referral to treatment in cases of non-urgent GP referral for cancer in Birmingham was in each such year; and how many cancer consultants there were in Birmingham in each such year.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. However, data relating to the percentage of patients with suspected cancer seen within two weeks (from 2002-03) following urgent referral from a general practitioner, and the percentage of patients with suspected cancer receiving treatment within two months (from 2004-05), in the Birmingham area, has been placed in the Library.
	The number of medical consultants working within the six main cancer specialities in the Birmingham area from 1997 to 2008 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust  University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust  Birmingham  Children' s Hospital NHS Trust  Birmingham  Women' s Healthcare NHS Trust  Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust  Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 
			 1997 20 45 12 6 0 - 
			 1998 18 46 12 6 1 - 
			 1999 22 44 14 7 3 - 
			 2000 21 37 14 7 4 - 
			 2001 24 50 16 6 3 - 
			 2002 25 46 16 10 3 26 
			 2003 26 48 17 11 6 26 
			 2004 30 56 17 11 6 26 
			 2005 31 66 17 10 5 28 
			 2006 38 57 18 7 6 31 
			 2007 48 66 19 11 5 34 
			 2008 47 73 20 10 5 36 
			  Notes: 1. The six main cancer specialties include clinical oncology, medical oncology, haematology, histopathology, palliative medicine and clinical radiology. 2. Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in 2002 from a part merger of Sandwell Healthcare NHS Trust and City Hospital NHS Trust. It is therefore not possible to accurately map this trust prior to 2002.  Source: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care, medical and dental workforce census.

Cancer: Drugs

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what drugs for the treatment of cancer the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has  (a) recommended and  (b) not recommended for NHS use since 1 November 2008; how long the appraisal of each took; and whether the pharmaceutical company supplying each such drug offered to make it available on a risk-sharing basis.

Mike O'Brien: The information requested is shown in the table. For each of the appraisals, the table shows whether one or more Patient Access Schemes agreed between the Department of Health and the manufacturer have been considered by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).
	
		
			  Topic  Start of NICE appraisal( 1)  Date of final NICE guidance  Recommendation  Patient access scheme considered by NICE 
			 Yondelis (trabectedin) for soft tissue sarcoma September 2008 February 2010 Partial recommendation Yes 
			 Hycamtin (topotecan) for small cell lung cancer August 2008 November 2009 Partial recommendation No 
			 Hycamtin (topotecan) for Cervical Cancer (recurrent) December 2008 October 2009 Partial recommendation No 
			 Sutent (sunitinib) for Gastrointestinal stromal tumours August 2008 September 2009 Partial recommendation Yes 
			 Alimta (pemetrexed) for the first-line treatment of non- small-cell lung cancer October 2008 September 2009 Partial recommendation No 
			 Erbitux (cetuximab) for Colorectal Cancer (first line) January 2008 August 2009 Partial recommendation Yes 
			 Avastin (bevacizumab) (first-line), Nexavar (sorafenib) (first-line and second-line), Sutent (sunitinib) (second-line) and Torisel (temsirolimus) (first-line) for the treatment of advanced and/or metastatic renal cell carcinoma September 2007(2) August 2009 Not recommended Nexavar (sorafenib) - yes 
			 Avastin (bevacizumab )-yes 
			 Sutent (sunitinib) - yes 
			 Mabthera (rituximab) for first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia September 2008 July 2009 Partial recommendation No 
			 Erbitux (cetuximab) for Head and Neck Cancer (squamous cell carcinoma) September 2008 June 2009 Not Recommended No 
			 Revlimid (lenalidomide) for Multiple Myeloma April 2008 June 2009 Partial recommendation Yes 
			 Sutent (sunitinib) for the first-line treatment of advanced and/or metastatic renal cell carcinoma September 2007(2) March 2009 Partial recommendation Yes 
			 Tarceva (erlotinib) for the treatment of non- small-cell lung cancer March 2006 November 2008 Partial recommendation Yes 
			 (1) The date NICE commenced work on the appraisal. NICE will also have carried out scoping work for the appraisal before this date. (2) This is the date on which the Multiple Technology Appraisal (MTA) began for Avastin (bevacizumab) (first-line), Nexavar (sorafenib) (first-line and second-line), Sutent (sunitinib) (first and second-line) and Torisel (temsirolimus) (first-line) for the treatment of advanced and/or metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The MTA was subsequently split and Sutent (sunitinib) for the first-line treatment of renal cell carcinoma was considered in a separate single technology appraisal.

Complementary Medicine

Phil Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2010,  Official Report, columns 1397-8W, on complementary medicine, which complementary or alternative treatments, medicines or therapies the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has  (a) considered and  (b) approved for use by NHS clinicians.

Gillian Merron: A summary of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations relating to complementary and alternative medicines is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  A summary of National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommendations relating to complementary and alternative medicines 
			  Guidance topic  Publication date  Recommendation 
			 Antenatal care March 2008 Few complementary therapies have been established as being safe and effective during pregnancy. 
			   The following interventions appear to be effective in reducing morning sickness: 
			   Ginger 
			   P6 acupressure 
			
			 Multiple Sclerosis November 2003 There is some evidence to suggest that the following items might be of benefit, although there is insufficient evidence to give more flexible recommendations: 
			   Reflexology and massage 
			   Fish oils 
			   Magnetic field therapy 
			   Neural therapy 
			   Massage plus body work 
			   T'ai chi 
			   Multi-modal therapy 
			
			 Dementia November 2006 For comorbid agitation, interventions tailored to the person's preferences, skills and abilities should be considered. Options to consider include: 
			   Aromatherapy 
			   Multisensory stimulation 
			   Therapeutic use of music and/or dancing 
			   Animal-assisted therapy 
			   Massage 
			
			 Parkinson's disease June 2006 The Alexander Technique may be offered to benefit people with Parkinson's disease (PD) by helping them to make lifestyle adjustments that affect both the physical nature of the condition and the person's attitude to having PD. 
			 Supportive and palliative care March 2004 When organising supportive and palliative care services for people with cancer, commissioners and the NHS and voluntary sector providers should work in partnership across a Cancer Network to decide how to best meet the needs of patients for complementary therapies where there is evidence to support their use. As a minimum, high quality information should be made available to patients about complementary therapies and services. Provider organisations should ensure that any practitioner delivering complementary therapies in NHS settings conforms to policies designed to ensure best practice agreed by the Cancer Network. 
			 Hypertension June 2006 Informing people with hypertension that relaxation therapies can reduce blood pressure and individual patients may wish to pursue these as part of their treatment. However, routine provision by primary care teams is not currently recommended. Examples include: stress management, meditation, cognitive therapies, muscle relaxation and biofeedback. 
			 Depression October 2009 Although there is evidence that St. John's wort may be of benefit in mild or moderate depression, health care professionals should not prescribe or advise its use by patients because of uncertainty about appropriate doses, variation in the nature of preparations and potential serious interactions with other drugs (including oral contraceptives, anticoagulants and anticonvulsants). 
			 Low back pain May 2009 Consider offering a course of manual therapy, including spinal manipulation, spinal mobilisation and massage. Treatment may be provided by a range of health professionals including chiropractors, osteopaths, manipulative physiotherapists or doctors who have had specialist training Consider offering a course of acupuncture needling, up to a maximum of 10 sessions over a period of up to 12 weeks Injections of therapeutic substances into the back for non-specific low back pain are not recommended.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of patients treated by the NHS for drug addiction and resident in  (a) Essex and  (b) Castle Point constituency were no longer addicted at the end of their treatment in each of the last five years.

Gillian Merron: Information is not available in the format requested. National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) data is not collected at the Castle Point constituency level. The NDTMS data available for adults in Essex completing drug treatment free from dependency is as follows:
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Total patients in treatment during the year 2,266 2,590 2,839 3,055 
			 Treatment completed free of dependency 129 168 577 813 
			 Percentage completed free of dependency 6 6 20 27 
			  Note: Data prior to 2005-06 is not robust enough to be reported at local drug action team level.

Greater Manchester

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to Manchester, Gorton constituency, the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 1997.

Ann Keen: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. 93 per cent. of people nationally now rate the NHS as good or excellent. The NHS constitution contains 25 rights and 14 pledges for patients and the public including new rights to be treated within 18 weeks, or be seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks and an NHS health check every five years for those aged 40-74 years.
	There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Gorton constituency.
	For example:
	Figures for December 2009 show that in the Manchester Primary Care Trust (PCT):
	87 per cent. of patients whose treatment involved admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks.
	97 per cent. of patients whose treatment did not involve admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks.
	In December 2009, at the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 98.0 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.
	Between September 2002 and September 2008, the number of consultants at the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has increased from 304 to 366. Between September 2002 and September 2008 the estimated number of nurses has increased from 2,383 to 3,274.
	Between September 2001 and September 2008 the number of general practitioners (GP) per 100,000 within the Manchester PCT area has increased from 67.9 to 70.3.
	85.6 per cent. of urgent GP referrals to the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with suspected cancer are seen by a specialist within two weeks of the referral (as at December 2009).
	A £512 million private finance initiative (PFI) scheme to replace many of Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust's existing hospitals into a linked development on the Manchester Royal Infirmary (Oxford Road) site is now complete. It includes:
	The new Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, which opened to patients in August 2009;
	The new Manchester Royal Infirmary wing, which opened to patients in August 2009;
	The new Royal Manchester Children's Hospital opened to patients in June 2009. It brings together the specialist services previously provided at the Booth Hall and Pendlebury Children's Hospitals. The new children's hospital includes the paediatric intensive care unit which is one of the leading centres in the North West and a paediatric emergency department.
	Although statistical information is not available at a local level, Manchester will have also benefitted from national policies in other areas. For example:
	Since 1997, gross current expenditure on personal social services has increased by around 70 per cent. in real terms with around 105,000 households now receiving intensive home care and 3,076 new extra care housing units-exceeding the original target of 1,500 new extra care units.
	Other strategies currently being implemented are:
	Subject to parliamentary approval, the Personal Care at Home Bill will guarantee free personal care for 280,000 people with the highest needs and help around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time to regain their independence.
	"Shaping the Future of Care Together" Green Paper, published in July 2009, sets out a vision of a National Care Service for all adults in England which is fair, simple and affordable. The Department has consulted widely on this reform and is currently analysing the responses, which will feed into a White Paper later this year.
	The National Carer's Strategy-("Carers at the heart of 21st century families and communities")-launched in 2008.
	The first National Dementia Strategy was published in February 2009.
	"Valuing People Now"-a three year strategy for people with learning disabilities published in January 2009.
	"New Horizons: A Shared Vision for Mental Health"-launched in December 2009-to maintain improvements in mental health services combined with a new cross-Government approach to promoting public mental health.
	Since 1998, there are now 2.4 million fewer smokers in England as a result of the Government's comprehensive tobacco control strategy which has a measurable impact on reducing smoking prevalence.
	Child obesity levels are reducing due to the efforts of families across England, supported by the Government's obesity strategy. In 2008, 13.9 per cent. of children (aged two to 10) in England were classified as obese, compared with 17.3 per cent. in 2005.
	Overall, life expectancy at birth for men has increased from 74.5 years (1995-97 data) to 77.7 years (2006-08 data) while for women, life expectancy at birth has increased from 79.6 years (1995-97 data) to 81.9 years (2006-08 data).

Health Centres: Christchurch

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2010,  Official Report, column 1115W, on health centres: Christchurch, 
	(1)  on what date discussions with the landlord to vary the terms of the lease began; and when he expects them to be concluded;
	(2)  on what date the repairs notice was served; what the expected date of completion of the repairs is; and what estimate has been made of their cost.

Mike O'Brien: Attempts have been made since the property became surplus to dispose of the Department's interest, subject to the use restrictions contained within the leasehold agreement.
	Since the service of Notice of Repairs on 5 August 2008, the Department has been in discussion with the landlord on the possibility on varying the terms of the lease to relax the use restrictions without any progress. However, following a meeting with the landlord in late February 2010 it was agreed that further work would be undertaken to establish the feasibility of the most appropriate alternative use for the property after which further discussions would take place with the landlord. The work will involve a number of external organisations and is expected to take up to four months. Every effort will be made to conclude subsequent discussions with the landlord as soon as possible.
	Following the service of the Repairs Notice there have been discussions with the landlord as to the extent of the works required having regard to the terms of the lease. The extent of the works will also now be dependent on the outcome of the discussions with the landlord with regard to alternative uses. Estimates of the costs will be made at that stage.

Health Services: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS  (a) dentists and  (b) GPs were practising in Birmingham in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The information is not available in the format requested. However, information on the number of dentists with national health service activity for the Birmingham area by primary care trust (PCT) for 1997-2009 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of dentists with NHS activity as at 31 March 
			   North Birmingham PCT  Eastern Birmingham PCT  Birmingham East and North PCT  South Birmingham PCT  Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT  Total 
			 1997 47 64 - 180 98 389 
			 1998 45 67 - 189 101 402 
			 1999 47 65 - 178 109 399 
			 2000 51 71 - 184 112 418 
			 2001 50 77 - 188 131 446 
			 2002 53 76 - 179 136 444 
			 2003 53 78 - 188 134 453 
			 2004 57 83 - 197 145 482 
			 2005 54 87 - 196 142 479 
			 2006 60 100 - 210 151 521 
			 2007 - - 144 157 138 439 
			 2008 - - 155 167 139 461 
			 2009 - - 177 174 142 493 
			  Notes: 1. The numbers of NHS dentists, in Birmingham, as at 31 March, 1997 to 2006 are based on the old contractual arrangements, which were in place up to and including 31 March 2006. 2. The numbers of dentists with NHS activity during the years ending 31 March, 2007, 2008 and 2009 are based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. 3. Birmingham East and North PCT was formed on 1 October 2006 from a complete merger of Eastern Birmingham PCT and North Birmingham PCT.  Sources: The Information Centre for health and social care NHS Dental Services of the NHS Business Services Authority 
		
	
	The number of general practitioners (excluding retainers and registrars) for the Birmingham area by PCT for the period 1997-2008 is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   Headcount by year 
			   Birmingham Health Authority (HA)  North Birmingham PCT  Eastern Birmingham PCT  South Birmingham PCT  Heart of Birmingham Teaching PCT  Birmingham East and North PCT  Total 
			 1997 590 - - - - - 590 
			 1998 603 - - - - - 603 
			 1999 614 - - - - - 614 
			 2000 610 - - - - - 610 
			 2001 608 - - - - - 608 
			 2002 - 91 136 232 149 - 608 
			 2003 - 102 135 236 177 - 650 
			 2004 - 99 144 247 159 - 649 
			 2005 - 106 146 260 168 - 680 
			 2006 - - - 263 176 236 675 
			 2007 - - - 267 176 248 691 
			 2008 - - - 274 175 261 710 
			  Note: Prior to the formation of PCTs, the area of Birmingham was serviced by Birmingham HA. Birmingham HA may not map completely into the separate PCTs beyond 2001, but has been displayed here as background and appears consistent with subsequent aggregated PCT figures.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care.

Hearing Impaired: Health Services

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have undertaken training courses in audiology in  (a) England and  (b) Gloucestershire in each of the last five years; how many people he expects to undertake such courses in future years; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The number of training places in audiology in England and the South West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) for each of the last five years is shown in the following table. The number of planned training commissions for 2009-10 is also shown.
	
		
			   Audiology training commissions  Planned commissions 
			  England  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Audiological Scientists 22 27 26 16 18 20 
			 Audiology BSc 180 139 206 187 208 215 
			
			  South West SHA   
			 Audiological Scientists 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Audiology BSc 16 30 29 31 30 30 
			  Sources: Multi-Professional Education and Training Fund SHA Quarterly Returns 
		
	
	Local national health service organisations are best placed to assess the health needs of their local health community and plan the workforce they need. SHAs are responsible for commissioning the correct number of training places to maintain a work force to meet the needs of the local population.

Hearing Impaired: Health Services

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of provision of audiology services for children in  (a) England and  (b) Gloucestershire, with particular reference to the number of practitioners; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The Department in its "Transforming Services for Children with Hearing Difficulty and their Families: a good practice guide", outlined the work force roles required to deliver different levels of service. Within Modernising Scientific Careers, training programmes are being developed to reflect these work force requirements and we are working with strategic health authorities to ensure a smooth transition.

Hospices: Charities

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason the Care Quality Commission requires small charities providing hospice places to produce 75 policies in order to achieve registration.

Mike O'Brien: Registration allows the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to give the public assurance that wherever they receive care or treatment, they can be confident that essential, common standards of safety and quality are being met. CQC strives to operate in accordance with better regulation principles, particularly to minimise regulatory burden.
	The CQC has advised us that it does not require a set number of policies from providers seeking registration. It does, however, require that providers have policies in place relating to the management of their organisation, and can demonstrate that they have a good infrastructure in place to deliver safe care.
	Under the current Care Standards Act 2000, CQC refers any queries about which policies might be appropriate to the list of suggested policies in the National Minimum Standards for Independent Health. This was published in February 2002 following extensive consultation with the sector in 2001.
	The CQC is now in the process of registering all providers of health and adult social care under a new system of registration in line with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
	This new system will apply to independent health care providers, including hospices, from 1 October 2010. CQC is intending to send high level guidance on how to apply for registration to hospices shortly. The CQC's guidance about compliance which sets out how providers can comply with the new registration regulations is already available on its website at:
	www.cqc.org.uk/publications.cfm?fde_id=13512

Hospices: Charities

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will take steps to exempt charitable hospices from the requirement to pay registration fees to the Care Quality Commission.

Mike O'Brien: Registration provides assurance to users of registered services that the care that a provider delivers at least meets essential levels of safety and quality. It is a standard principle that organisations that are regulated should meet the cost of regulation. The Care Quality Commission is responsible for setting the level of fees that are paid by different providers and is required to consult on these fees.

Hospitals: Police

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals with accident and emergency departments provide anonymised data to their local  (a) police and  (b) crime and disorder reduction partnership.

Mike O'Brien: There are 103 accident and emergency departments, which are currently collecting and sharing anonymised data with local partners, in England. In most cases, this data is being shared with the crime and disorder reduction partnerships. However, in some cases data is being shared directly with the police.

MMR Vaccine

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there has been an investigation of purported ethical approval for blood tests funded by legal aid to detect the presence of the measles virus carried out on claimants and controls in research in connection with concluded MMR vaccine litigation.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 11 March 2010
	 We understand that the tests in question were carried out as part of now concluded litigation that followed claims that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was linked to autism. It appears that the tests were organised by the legal teams involved and the Department played no part in these arrangements.

NHS: Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assumptions his Department is asking NHS organisations to make in their financial planning for  (a) 2011-12,  (b) 2012-13 and  (c) 2013-14.

Mike O'Brien: The NHS Operating Framework for England 2010-11, published in December 2009, advised primary care trust (PCTs) to allow for flat real revenue allocations growth for the years 2011-12 and 2012-13. The national health service was also to expect the full deployment during the years of 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2013-14 of any surplus generated by the PCT and strategic health authority (SHA) sector in 2009-10. Alongside this SHAs were to ensure that all PCTs in their region did not recurrently commit the totality of their recurred funding, such that at least 2 per cent. of recurrent funding was only committed non-recurrently by 2013-14.
	In addition the Operating Framework stated that the uplift in tariff for 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 will be set at a maximum of 0 per cent.
	It also confirmed that the NHS needs to identify £15 billion to £20 billion of efficiency savings by the end of 2013-14 and specifically set an aggregate target reduction of 30 per cent. in management and agency costs by 2013-14 for each SHA.
	These savings will remain with the NHS, enabling it to continue to deliver service improvements. There will be no cuts to NHS front line spending.
	As an interim step, "NHS 2010-15 From Good to Great", published in December 2009, set an interim challenge of £10 billion efficiency savings by 2012-13.

Patient Choice Scheme: Mentally Ill

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of whether his Department's guidance to Extended Choice Network providers not to treat patients with unstable psychiatric disorders discriminates against patients with mental illness.

Mike O'Brien: Patient welfare and safety is a priority for patients being treated under the Extended Choice Network (ECN) as it is across the national health service.
	The ECN rules are in place to govern the referral of patients by general practitioners (GPs) to elective care facilities operated by independent providers. The rules are also in place to help safeguard patient safety. NHS patients referred to ECN facilities are assessed before they receive treatment to ensure that they are treated at a hospital that has the facilities and level of care required to meet their needs. The ECN rules state that ECN providers should not treat a patient who has a current and significantly unstable psychiatric disorder where the approved facility cannot reasonably be expected to accommodate the patient's needs.
	ECN providers are not permitted under the ECN rules to exclude patients who have a history of mental illness and who are currently in a stable condition whether on medication or not. A GP will use their clinical judgment and knowledge of the patient and their medical history to determine this. However, many of the hospitals in the ECN network do not have the psychiatric facilities or trained psychiatric staff required to safely care for a patient with a current and significantly unstable mental illness. For this reason current and significantly unstable mental illness is included as a co-morbidity in the ECN exclusion criteria.
	ECN providers are required to take their obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act into account when listing services available for ECN.
	ECN and Free Choice Network have given patients a greater choice of healthcare providers and helped to reduce waiting times. As at 30 January 2010, more than 150,000 procedures have been performed under the Extended Choice and Free Choice networks.

Prescription Drugs

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2010,  Official Report, column 553W, for what reason the views of the National Patient Safety Agency were not sought before publication of his Department's consultation on proposals to implement generic substitution in primary care.

Mike O'Brien: During 2009, the Department undertook a series of meetings with key national stakeholders, representing general practitioners, community pharmacists, and manufacturers, to discuss the commitment in the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) agreement in England. These national stakeholders were the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry, the British Generic Manufacturers Association and the Ethical Medicines Industry Group. We recognise that we could not have meetings with all stakeholders that might have views on the PPRS commitment and this informed our decision to hold a full public consultation, which gives all stakeholders the opportunity to input.
	Patient safety is at the core of the proposals. Substitution will not be permissible where it may pose a potential risk to patient safety. Option 1 involves no change to the current arrangements. Both options 2 and 3, which involve changes, would give the flexibility to create a list of drugs that is either exempt from any arrangements (option 2), or included in any arrangements (option 3), which allows implementation to take account of whether there are any general clinical or patient safety concerns with regard to interchange between different manufacturers' products. Furthermore, both options 2 and 3 also maintain prescribers' clinical autonomy to tailor prescribing to their individual patients' clinical needs, through the ability of prescribers to opt in or out of the generic substitution arrangements for any prescription item. Therefore, patients would continue to receive a specific manufacturer's product where their treating clinician judges that there is clinical need.

Prescription Drugs

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason his Department opted to undertake a partial impact assessment on its proposals relating to automatic generic substitution; and what his Department's practice is on the preparation of  (a) full and  (b) partial impact assessments on matters which concern patient safety.

Mike O'Brien: Generic substitution is not automatic under any of the options which are currently being consulted on and patient safety is at the core of these proposals.
	It is good practice to issue a consultation impact assessment (previously known as a partial impact assessment) alongside a consultation paper and to seek views from stakeholders on its content, so these can be considered in the final impact assessment later in the policy development process.

Radiotherapy

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of cancer patients in England have received radiotherapy treatment in the last 12 months.

Ann Keen: It is not currently possible to calculate a reliable estimate of the proportion of cancer patients receiving radiotherapy.
	The Department is working with the national health service to implement a comprehensive and robust data collection and monitoring system to support the implementation later this year of the commitment that no patient should wait longer than 31-days for subsequent radiotherapy, as set out in the Cancer Reform Strategy.

Stroud

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out, with statistical information related as directly as possible to constituency, the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies and actions since 2000.

Mike O'Brien: The Government have put in place a programme of national health service investment and reform since 1997 to improve service delivery in all parts of the United Kingdom. 93 per cent. of people nationally now rate the NHS as good or excellent. The NHS Constitution contains 25 rights and 14 pledges for patients and the public including new rights to be treated within 18 weeks, or be seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks and a NHS Health Check every five years for those aged 40-74 years.
	There is significant evidence that these policies have yielded considerable benefits for the Stroud constituency. For example:
	Figures for December 2009 show that in Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT):
	91 per cent. of patients whose treatment involved admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks.
	97 per cent. of patients whose treatment did not involve admission to hospital started their treatment within 18 weeks.
	In December 2009, at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, 97 per cent. of patients spent less than four hours in accident and emergency from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge.
	Between September 2007 and September 2008, the number of consultants at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has increased from 272 to 287. Between September 1997 and September 2008, the estimated number of nurses has increased from 2,320 to 2,407.
	Between September 2001 and September 2008 the number of general practitioners (GPs) per 100,000 within Gloucestershire PCT has increased from 61.6 to 68.7.
	97.5 per cent, of urgent GP referrals to Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with suspected cancer are seen by a specialist within two weeks of the referral.
	A new GP health centre opened at the Gloucester Health Access Centre, Gloucester in May 2009. It is open between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week, 365 days a year, offering appointments and walk-in services for any member of the public; patients may also choose to register at the health centre if more convenient than their existing practice, or use the service while remaining registered at another practice.
	There is a private finance initiative (PFI) scheme in the area that serves this constituency: a £32 million PFI scheme at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital opened in September 2005.
	Although statistical information is not available at a local level, Stroud will have also benefited from national policies in other areas. For example:
	Since 1997, gross current expenditure on personal social services has increased by around 70 per cent. in real terms with around 105,000 households now receiving intensive home care and 3,076 new extra care housing units-exceeding the original target of 1,500 new extra care units.
	Other strategies currently being implemented are:
	Subject to parliamentary approval, the Personal Care at Home Bill will guarantee free personal care for 280,000 people with the highest needs and help around 130,000 people who need home care for the first time to regain their independence.
	"Shaping the Future of Care Together" Green Paper, published in July 2009, sets out a vision of a National Care Service for all adults in England which is fair, simple and affordable. The Department has consulted widely on this reform and is currently analysing the responses, which will feed into a White Paper later this year.
	The National Carer's Strategy-"Carers at the heart of 21st century families and communities" launched in 2008.
	The first National Dementia Strategy was published in February 2009.
	"Valuing People Now"-a three-year strategy for people with learning disabilities was published in January 2009.
	"New Horizons-A Shared Vision for Mental Health" was launched in December 2009 to maintain improvements in mental health services combined with a new cross-Government approach to promoting public mental health.
	Since 1998, there are now 2.4 million fewer smokers in England as a result of the Government's comprehensive tobacco control strategy which has a measurable impact on reducing smoking prevalence.
	Child obesity levels are reducing due to the efforts of families across England, supported by the Government's obesity strategy. In 2008, 13.9 per cent. of children (aged 2 to 10) in England were classified as obese, compared with 17.3 per cent. in 2005.
	Overall, life expectancy at birth for men has increased from 74.5 years (1995-1997 data) to 77.7 years (2006-08 data) while for women, life expectancy at birth has increased from 79.6 years (1995-97 data) to 81.9 years (2006-08 data).